New York Passes Bill Removing Guns From Domestic Abusers

New legislation passed in New York last week will remove all firearms from New Yorkers convicted of domestic violence. According to TheHill, the bill updates a pre-existing law that prevented abusers from owning handguns.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced the passage of the bill on Saturday in a press release via his website. The bill passed with huge majorities in the state Assembly by 85-32 and the Senate by 41-19. "New York is once again leading the way to prevent gun violence, and with this common sense reform, break the inextricable link between gun violence and domestic violence," Cuomo said in the release.

According to the law, New York citizens convicted of domestic abuse must turn in their rifles, shotguns, and other firearms. The original law only barred abusers from owning pistols or revolvers. Cuomo also chided the federal government for not passing stricter gun control laws in the wake of so many mass shootings. "The recent wave of mass shootings is horrifying, and the federal government's failure to act on any form of meaningful gun safety laws is unconscionable," Cuomo said. "This legislation builds on our gun laws—already the strongest in the nation—to make New York safer and stronger."

The bill tackles a huge component of gun safety, because it recognizes the link between domestic abuse and gun violence/mass shootings. According to NPR, perpetrators of domestic violence accounted for about 54 percent of mass shootings between 2009 and 2016.

Cuomo is currently facing off Sex and the City star Cynthia Nixon for reelection.