What's happening
The Safe Homes Act allows police to temporarily seize weapons and licenses at family offense scenes to enhance public safety.
Why it matters
Expands police authority at family offense scenes. , allowing officers to temporarily seize not only firearms but also imitation weapons, stun guns, and weapon licenses if found in plain sight or during a lawful search—potentially reducing immediate risks in volatile situations.
Mandates documentation and transparency. by requiring officers to provide receipts detailing all seized weapons and licenses, including serial numbers and retrieval instructions, which could help protect property rights and ensure due process.
Sets clear timelines and pathways for reclaiming seized property. , giving owners at least 120 hours (or 144 if a holiday/weekend intervenes) to recover weapons not implicated in a crime or subject to a court order, or to legally transfer them—balancing safety concerns with lawful ownership.
Aligns seized weapons with nuisance and forfeiture procedures. if they're used in a crime, unlawfully possessed, or ordered surrendered by a court, streamlining how these weapons are handled and potentially keeping them out of circulation when there’s a legal basis.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Police Remove Guns in Abuse
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to codes
- Referred to codes
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
2182
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 12, 2017
Introduced by Sen. ALCANTARA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Codes
AN ACT to amend the criminal procedure law, in relation to establishing the safe homes act
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "safe homes act".
§ 2. Section 140.10 of the criminal procedure law is amended by adding a new subdivision 6 to read as follows:
6. (a) A police officer who responds to a report of a family offense as defined in section 530.11 of this chapter and section eight hundred twelve of the family court act may, in the interest of public safety, take temporary custody of any firearm, rifle, electronic dart gun, electronic stun gun, disguised gun, imitation weapon, shotgun, antique firearm, black powder rifle, black powder shotgun, or muzzle-loading firearm that is in plain sight or is discovered pursuant to a consensual or other lawful search, and shall take temporary custody of any such weapon that is in the possession of any person arrested for the commission of such family offense or suspected of its commission. An officer who takes custody of any weapon pursuant to this paragraph shall also take custody of any license to carry, possess, repair and dispose of such weapon issued to the person suspected of such family offense. The officer shall deliver such weapon and/or license to the appropriate law enforcement officer as provided in paragraph (f) of subdivision one of section 265.20 of the penal law.
(b) Upon taking custody of weapons or a license described in paragraph (a) of this subdivision, the responding officer shall give the owner or person in possession of such weapons or license a receipt describing such weapons or license and indicating any identification or serial number on such weapons. Such receipt shall indicate where the weapons or
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD07262-01-7
S. 2182 2
license can be recovered and describe the process for recovery provided in paragraph (d) of this subdivision.
(c) A weapon described in paragraph (a) of this subdivision that is utilized in the commission of an offense, that is unlawfully possessed, or that a court orders to be surrendered pursuant to subdivision two or subdivision three of section eight hundred forty-two-a of the family court act shall be declared a nuisance as provided in subdivision one of section 400.05 of the penal law and either disposed of in the manner described in subdivision two or retained as provided in subdivision three of section 400.05 of the penal law.
(d) Not less than one hundred twenty hours, or in the event that a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday occurs during such period, one hundred forty-four hours, after a weapon other than a weapon described in paragraph (c) of this subdivision, is taken into temporary custody as provided in paragraph (a) of this subdivision, the owner or person who was in lawful possession of such weapon shall have the right to arrange for the sale or transfer of such weapon to a dealer, or to himself or herself, in the manner provided in subdivision six of section 400.05 of the penal law.
§ 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the criminal procedure law, in relation to establishing the safe homes act
Purpose
To keep homes safe from the deadly combination of guns and domestic violence.
Summary of provisions
Section I titles the bill.
Section II amends section 140.10 of the criminal procedure law by adding a new subdivision 6 requiring law enforcement officers responding to a report of domestic violence to (1) determine whether there are firearms present at the scene of the incident, and (2) in the event of an arrest, remove such firearms and any relevant licenses to obtain firearms which are owned or possessed by the person being arrested until the court responsible for adjudicating the offense authorizes their release.
Section III sets forth the effective date.
Justification
Domestic violence incidents are emotionally charged and highly volatile. Having a gun in the household increases the risk of a domestic violence incident turning deadly. Separating alleged offenders from firearms is an important step in safeguarding family members and responding law enforcement officers.
Currently New York State does not require law enforcement officers to remove firearms from the scene of a domestic violence incident, even if an arrest is made. The New York City Police Department has an internal policy, but it is not clear whether the requirement for officers to remove a firearm is triggered by an arrest or by the officer's own judgment of whether the incident involved physical force; the policy is also unclear on whether firearms or licenses held by the victim should also be removed.
Many other states have adopted laws similar to this legislation, including California, Illinois, Montana, West Virginia, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Utah, Alaska, Arizona, Connecticut, Hawaii, Indiana and Maryland. It is time that New. York State adopts a statewide, uniform standard for removing guns from domestic violence perpetrators until a court determines that it is safe for the gun to be returned.
Legislative history
S.7443 of 2016 (Espaillat): Died in Codes A.249 of 2015-2016 (Rozic): Died in Codes A.3516-A of 2013-2014 (Rozic): Died in Codes S.6630 of 2012 (Klein): Died in Codes A.6746-A of 2011-2012 (Lancman): Died in Codes
Fiscal impact on the state
None.
Effective date
The act shall take effect immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.