Governor Kathy Hochul announces increased funding to support Red Flag Law

The State Attorney General’s Office is receiving $4.6 million to support the state’s Red Flag Law use to prevent gun violence.

Governor Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James announced the funding comes on the heels of the number ERPOs doubling since the state’s Red Flag Law went into effect in August.

The Red Flag Law, also known as the Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO) law, prevents individuals who show signs of being a threat to themselves or others from purchasing or possessing any kind of firearm.

It also provides procedural safeguards to ensure that no firearm is removed without due process while helping to prevent tragedies, like the racist mass shooting in Buffalo.

The number of total ERPOs issued have gone from 1,552 between August 25, 2019 and June 1, 2022 to 3,460 as of October 1, 2022. That’s an increase of 1,908 ERPOs.

Hochul and James said the new funding supports State Police efforts to implement the law. They said, currently, troopers make applications to the court for an ERPO on their own, but with the drastic increase in applications, there is a need for consistent legal representation to ensure the process to remove firearms from potentially dangerous individuals works effectively.

The additional $4.6 million will allow the Attorney General’s Office to add dozens of staff positions to represent the State Police and bolster their efforts to obtain these orders.

NY Governor Andrew Cuomo

ALBANY – Governor Andrew Cuomo has proposed an expansion to his “Extreme Risk Protection Order” bill to give teachers the power to go to court to prevent a student’s access to guns, if they suspect the student might bring a gun to school and potentially engage in a school shooting.

Cuomo says the measure would give teachers, and school administrators, the power, if they believe a student might use guns to be a danger to themselves or others, to go to court.

A judge could then determine whether the student needs a mental health exam, and whether the student’s or their family’s guns should be taken away.

Cuomo says he believes people in the state overwhelmingly support the measure and predicts it will become an election issue in the fall.

With the legislative session ending in a couple weeks it is unlikely the measure will be approved by the GOP controlled Senate.