Ahead of National Gun Violence Awareness Day, New York Senate Passes Life Saving Gun Safety Package; Moms Demand Action, Students Demand Action Applaud 

ALBANY, N.Y. – Today, the New York chapters of Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action, both part of Everytown for Gun Safety’s grassroots network, released the following statement applauding the New York Senate for passing a package of gun violence prevention measures to further strengthen New York’s gun safety laws. The passage of these bills comes only days ahead of National Gun Violence Awareness Day on June 7, which is the start of Wear Orange weekend. Now, House lawmakers have until Friday to pass these gun safety measures before the end of this year’s legislative session. 

“With National Gun Violence Awareness Day only a few days away, I can’t think of a better way for New York to demonstrate its commitment to honoring victims and survivors of gun violence than with the passage of these bills,” said Alexis Gevanter, a volunteer with the New York chapter of Moms Demand Action. “New York is a national leader in enacting strong gun safety laws, and today’s package builds on that legacy. From increasing support for gun violence prevention programs, to prohibiting the open carry of rifles and shotguns, and using credit and debit card merchant codes to identify potentially illegal or dangerous firearm and ammunition purchases, these are common sense measures that will save lives.” 

“New York continues to step up to the plate as a national leader in the gun violence prevention movement and today is just the latest example of that leadership,” said Natalie Brenner, a volunteer leader with Riverdale Country School Students Demand Action chapter. “We refuse to let the next generation of students grow up like we have. Young people have a right to live free from the constant fear of gun violence and we’ll continue to work alongside our gun sense leaders to create meaningful, long lasting change.”

Measures in today’s Senate package include: 

• S. 9137-A (Senator Gianaris): This bill would prohibit the open carrying of a rifle or shotgun, with certain exceptions.
• S. 8589-A (Senator Scarcella-Spanton): This bill would update New York’s Red Flag law to allow police agencies, rather than individual officers, to be ERPO petitioners. 
• S. 4818 (Senator Gianaris): This bill would establish a 10 day waiting period for the purchase of any firearm. 
• S. 2086-A (Senator Kavanagh): This bill would establish a voluntary “do-not-sell” list that allows individuals to waive their right to purchase firearms, rifles or shotguns at times when they are in crisis and at risk of harming themself or someone else. 
• S.8479 (Senator Myrie): This bill would require issuers of credit and debit cards to use a certain merchant category code to identify transactions made at firearm and ammunition dealers. Records of these transactions can be used to identify suspicious firearm and ammunition purchasing activity that may be indicative of mass shooting preparation or illegal firearm trafficking.
• S.4598-D (Senator Bailey): This bill would enact the School Anti-Violence Education Act to establish public school anti-violence education programs that would provide evidence-based trauma support, group counseling, and anti-gun violence education to students. 
• S.1892 (Senator Stavisky): This bill would extend an existing law prohibiting sales of firearms to and purchases of firearms by people who are prohibited by law from possessing them to include sales and purchases of ammunition. 

Advocates are also urging lawmakers in the Senate and Assembly to pass S.7365-B/A. 10053-A (Senator Hoylman-Sigal / Assembly Member Simon) before adjourning this session, which would update New York’s landmark gun industry accountability law to explicitly require firearm manufacturers to take steps to ensure their handguns cannot be easily turned into machine guns with Glock switches. 

New York has long been a national leader in gun violence prevention, with the second-strongest gun safety laws in the nation. As a result, New York has the fourth-lowest rate of gun deaths in the country, proving what we have long known to be true: strong gun laws save lives. 

In an average year, 960 people die by guns in New York, and another 2,841 are wounded. Gun deaths and injuries cost New York $11.4 billion each year, of which $301.2 million is paid by taxpayers. More information about gun violence in New York can be found here.