New York bill would let police 'briefly seize firearms during domestic disputes

Police in New York want the legal authority to seize firearms during a domestic violence call, even if no arrests were made. However, instead of going through normal legal channels and obtaining a search warrant or court order, police want the legal right to take the guns on their own.

New York state lawmakers plan to reintroduce a bill during the next legislative session that would go further than the state’s Safe Homes Act of 2020, which allows officers to seize firearms found during a consensual search when police respond to a domestic dispute.

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New York State Sen. Peter Harckham, a Democrat from Westchester County, has sponsored a bill that would “mandate” officers to confiscate all firearms left out in the open during a domestic call.

“This is not gun control; this is gun safety, and this is domestic safety,” the senator told Spectrum News. “This is keeping the victims of domestic violence alive. We had two fatalities through domestic violence and firearms in my district in the last month. This is very real. This is very deadly, and this is not a permanent seizure.”

Harckham’s bill would allow police to keep the seized weapons for five days — most likely to seek restraining orders or other legal options — before returning them to their rightful owners. Also, police would likely extend this five-day time limit as needed.

Tom King, president of New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, balked loudly about the new bill.

“No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law,” King told the reporters. “That means a search warrant or an order from a judge to confiscate the firearms, and they’re doing this without that.”

King pointed out the more than 100 New Yorkers who had firearms seized under the state’s newly expanded red-flag law. This group contacted King’s nonprofit seeking help getting their guns back. Some have already paid more than $10,000 in legal expenses, King said.

Takeaways

The main problem with the new bill is that it offers police yet another illegal mechanism to seize someone’s guns.

Our federal law does not allow law enforcement to go traipsing through someone’s home looking for firearms that were never used in a crime, which they will then seize for no evidentiary value.

These types of laws are passed solely for one reason — harassment. They want to harass gun owners. They want gun owners temporarily disarmed and then forced to make several trips to the police station to get their property returned, at great cost, too. Don’t forget that.

Today, gun owners have fewer rights in places like New York than they do in free states. This new bill will only make it worse.

Lee Williams is chief editor of the Second Amendment Foundation's Investigative Journalism Project. Republished with permission.