What's happening
This bill requires individuals taken into police custody for mental examination to temporarily surrender their firearms, with a post-release cooling-off period before return.
Why it matters
Increases public safety by ensuring that individuals undergoing mental health evaluation—who may be experiencing a crisis—do not have immediate access to firearms, potentially reducing the risk of harm to themselves or others.
Creates a structured “cooling off period” after psychiatric discharge, giving mental health professionals time to assess whether returning firearms is appropriate, rather than making that decision immediately upon release.
Empowers local judges to override the waiting period and return firearms sooner if they determine it is safe, adding a layer of judicial oversight and flexibility based on individual circumstances.
Affects both those undergoing involuntary and pre-hospitalization interventions, meaning the policy could apply broadly to a range of mental health-related police interactions, not just those resulting in formal hospitalization.
Albany, before your first meeting.
Every bill that moved yesterday, summarized in a sentence and ranked by impact. The Albany Scorecard follows on Sundays.
Free. Unsubscribe in one click. Want alerts on specific bills? Create an account.
Who cares
Headline styles
Temporary Firearm Surrender Law
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
2 Multi-sponsors
History
- Referred to codes
- Referred to codes
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
396
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY (Prefiled)
January 9, 2019
Introduced by M. of A. CAHILL -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. COLTON, ORTIZ -- read once and referred to the Committee on Codes
AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to the temporary surrender of firearms for public safety purposes
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Section 400.05 of the penal law is amended by adding a new subdivision 7 to read as follows:
7. (a) Any person who is taken into custody by the police for the purpose of a mental examination, and prior to an examination ordered pursuant to article seven hundred thirty of the criminal procedure law, shall be required to surrender his or her firearms as defined in subdivision three of section 265.00 of this chapter, to the police.
(b) There shall be a "cooling off period" following the discharge from psychiatric care during which time firearms, which came into police custody during the person's pre-hospitalization intervention or during hospitalization, may be kept in police custody for thirty days, or after a psychiatric examiner has determined whether the person is a threat to himself or herself or others. However, a judge of the local jurisdiction may order an early return of the firearms if he or she determines that it would be appropriate to do so.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01969-01-9
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.