New York State Gov. Kathy Hochul has signed into law critical, life-saving legislation sponsored by state Assembly member Amy Paulin and Sen. Pete Harckham that requires mental health facilities to provide information about New York’s Red Flag Law and obtaining extreme risk protection orders for
patients upon their discharge or conditional release. Now enacted, the legislation (A.1005A / S.5434A) is effective immediately.
“Gun violence and their ensuing tragedies cannot continue to be par for the course in this country. New York’s Red Flag Law was a necessary action to
allow courts to order the temporary seizure of firearms from people believed to pose a danger to themselves or others,” Paulin said. “Now that Governor
Hochul has signed this bill into law, patients and their representatives will automatically receive materials informing them of New York’s Red Flag Law prior to their discharge from a mental health facility. This logical requirement will help minimize risks and ensure the safety of our loved ones and neighbors.”
Enacted two years ago in New York State, the Red Flag Law, also known as the Extreme Risk Protection Order law, prevents individuals who show signs of being a threat to themselves or others from purchasing or possessing any kind of firearm. This law was put into effect with the hope of preventing mass shootings, domestic incidents, suicides and other tragedies, all of which continue to afflict our country.
Right after the Red Flag Law was put in place, a Westchester woman, Treva Foss Thoms, voluntarily checked herself into a mental health facility, and after
being discharged purchased a gun and committed suicide. After her death, Treva’s husband contacted Westchester County Legislator Ruth Walter, unable
to understand why his wife was able to purchase a firearm in the first place, being that she’d been recently hospitalized.
Sadly, Treva’s family had no previous knowledge of the Red Flag Law. Her husband, Dr. Jason Thoms, said, “I assumed that there was no way that my wife, given that she had just been released from a mental services facility where she resided for several months, would have the ability to purchase a gun. If I had known about the existence of the Red Flag Law and the ability to obtain an extreme risk protection order, I would have secured one for my wife, and she might still be here with us today.”
(Submitted)
