AMGOA Staff
Pennsylvania


Posts: 1,429

A measure to establish "extreme risk protection orders" in the Empire State was approved by the lower chamber of the legislature this month.

The Democrat backed proposal, A.6994, would allow a family member, police officer, or district attorney to file a petition with the court for a judge to decide if a subject poses a threat to themselves or others. This could lead to an order prohibiting firearms possession for up to one year, which could be renewed. Proponents feel the move, already law in California and Washington, would save lives.

"Family and household members are often the first to notice when someone is in crisis or exhibiting dangerous behavior," said Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie. "Preventing access to guns by individuals in crisis who are found to be a danger to themselves or others could prevent incidents of interpersonal gun violence and suicide involving a gun."

Under the measure's guidelines, if a protection order is granted it would prohibit the subject from purchasing guns while mandating they surrender any they already own to authorities. When the order expires the owner could get their guns back so long as they were not a prohibited possessor and then records of the proceedings would be sealed.

http://www.guns.com/2017/06/29/ny-assembly-passes-gun-violence-restraining-order-bill/