Red Flag Gun Protection Law Now in Effect
The Red Flag Law, also known as the extreme risk protection order law, is effective in New York State as of August 24, 2019. The law prevents individuals who show signs of being a threat to themselves or others from purchasing or possessing any kind of firearm.
The Red Flag Law provides all necessary procedural safeguards to ensure that no firearm is removed without due process while ensuring that tragedies, like the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, and the racist mass shooting in Buffalo, are not repeated.
This law builds on New York's strongest in the nation gun laws and makes New York the first in the United States to empower its teachers, school administrators, and mental health professionals to prevent shootings by pursuing court intervention.
Governor Hochul has taken decisive action to strengthen New York's Red Flag law. On May 18, 2022, Governor Hochul signed an Executive Order to require State Police to file for an Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO) whenever they have probable cause to believe that an individual is a threat to themselves or others.
As part of a landmark gun legislation package, on June 6, 2022 Governor Hochul signed a law that expanded who may file an ERPO petition to include health care practitioners who have examined an individual within the last six months; amended the firearm licensing statute to ensure mental health practitioners' reports on potentially harmful individuals are considered closely when determining whether to issue a firearm license; required police and district attorneys to file ERPO petitions when they have credible information that an individual is likely to engage in conduct resulting in serious harm; and required State Police and the Municipal Police Training Council to create and disseminate policies and procedures to identify when an ERPO petition may be warranted.
Extreme Risk Protection Order Application
How To Prepare and File
2022 Actions to Combat Gun Violence
On June 6, 2022, Governor Kathy Hochul signed a landmark legislative package to immediately strengthen the state's gun laws, close critical loopholes exposed by shooters in Buffalo and Uvalde and protect New Yorkers from the scourge of gun violence that continues to infect our nation and endanger our communities.