NY gov unveiling bill to remove firearms from those with domestic violence convictions

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) said he will announce legislation Wednesday to remove firearms from people who commit domestic violence crimes.

“Today I am announcing legislation to remove all firearms from those who commit any domestic violence crimes,” Cuomo tweeted.

“Given the inextricable link between domestic violence and lethal gun violence, this legislation will require all domestic violence crime convictions, including misdemeanors, to result in the immediate removal of all firearms.”

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Cuomo said this year will be remembered as “the year of reckoning, when both the tragedy of mass shootings and cultural and institutional harassment of women became impossible to ignore.”

“Let’s make New York a safer state for all,” he said.

Today I am announcing legislation to remove all firearms from those who commit any domestic violence crimes.

— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) December 13, 2017

Given the inextricable link between domestic violence and lethal gun violence, this legislation will require all domestic violence crime convictions, including misdemeanors, to result in the immediate removal of all firearms.

— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) December 13, 2017

This year will be remembered as the year of reckoning, when both the tragedy of mass shootings and cultural and institutional harassment of women became impossible to ignore.

Let’s make New York a safer state for all.

— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) December 13, 2017

Democratic lawmakers have pushed for new gun control measures after a series of mass shootings over the past year, including recent ones in Las Vegas and Texas.

More than 50 people were killed and more than 500 others wounded when a gunman opened fire at a country music festival in Las Vegas in early October. The following month, 26 people were killed after a gunman opened fire on churchgoers attending a Sunday service at a church in Sutherland Springs, Texas.

Police identified the suspect in the Texas shooting as Devin Kelley, who was discharged from the Air Force in 2014 for bad conduct after a domestic violence conviction. But the Air Force came under fire for failing to enter Kelley’s domestic violence court-martial into a federal database used for background checks on gun sales.

Last month, a Democratic lawmaker introduced a bill that would require the Justice Department to conduct a study examining whether there is a correlation between individuals who have a history of domestic violence and mass shooters.

“If we look at the recent mass shootings in Sutherland Springs, Orlando, and the Congressional Baseball Game practice, we see a noticeable trend: all these shooters acted alone and had prior history of domestic violence,” Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Ill.) said in a statement in November.

“Studies on the link between domestic violence at the early stages and mass shootings may help us prevent individuals from carrying out these horrific crimes in the future,” he added.