Abusers Can No Longer Have Guns In New York State

Central New York and the entire state can rest a little easier. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is proud of a new law prohibiting abusers--even those convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence--from owning a gun.

Felons are already not permitted to own guns, so this latest move is a more stringent tightening of the laws that Cuomo and others believe is a minor battle won and a major step forward in the ongoing war against gun violence.

Cuomo proposed this legislation in January and it was approved in final budgetary talks this past weekend. "We won more gun safety for victims of domestic violence, and that was a great, great win," Cuomo said over the weekend. "This bill, I believe, will actually save lives."

Statistics tell some of the tale in the larger story of the role of guns in domestic violence, as firearms were used in 25 domestic homicides in New York in 2016.

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