NEW YORK — New York’s “red flag” gun-control law went into effect Saturday.
The law, which allows authorities and families to ask a court to order firearms to be seized from people who they consider dangerous, comes amid the nation’s debate on gun control.
“The scourge of gun violence and mass shootings plaguing the United States in recent years is only getting worse, and it is fueled in part by Washington’s failure to keep deadly firearms out of the hands of people who threaten violence against others,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a statement.
“New York has led the charge to end this madness by passing the strongest gun safety laws in the nation, including the Red Flag Law that was enacted this year and goes into effect today. This law makes New York the first state in the nation to empower teachers, law enforcement and family members to pursue court intervention when they believe someone is a danger to themselves or others.”
With bipartisan support in many cases, 17 states and Washington D.C. have now passed “red flag laws.” The back-to-back shootings that killed 31 people this month in Texas and Ohio have given new momentum to proposals pending in several other states and to a plan in Congress to provide grant money to states that adopt such measures.
In a rare victory for gun control advocates, the laws have spread since the February 2018 shooting that killed 17 students and staff members at a high school in Parkland, Florida.
New Jersey is expected to follow, with their law coming into the effect Sept. 1
Associated Press contributed to this report.
