Gov. Kathy Hochul plans to propose “a very comprehensive” plan to staunch the tide of illegal guns into New York, she signaled on Monday ahead of her State of the State address in the coming weeks.
Hochul indicated the push against illegal guns will be part of her 2023 agenda as she concludes her first full year in office and begins a full, four-year term at the start of the year.
The governor did not give specifics on her plan, but does plan on expanding resources for the State Police as well as leaning on an existing multi-state task force that started earlier in the year to tackle the issue of illegal firearms.
“I’m going to be going back into the next session of the Legislature with a whole approach dealing with public safety and the interdiction of illegal guns,” she told reporters after appearing at an event in Gloversville to tout economic development. “It’s about getting the illegal guns to stop the flow of them.”
Hochul throughout the year has highlighted efforts to curb illegal guns that law enforcement officials have attributed to being involved in the vast majority of crimes involving firearms in New York. Many of these guns come into New York from neighboring states, and a multi-state, multi-agency task force has been charged with tracking and seizing these weapons.
Hochul won re-election this month following a campaign that had focused heavily on public safety concerns. Previously, Hochul has signaled she wants to continue adding to the ranks of the State Police and has pointed to new gun laws, including a measure that raised the age to possess a semiautomatic weapon from 18 to 21 in New York.
A law approved addressing concealed carry permits in the wake of a Supreme Court ruling that found a century-old concealed carry law was unconstitutional is now the subject of multple legal challenges.
Hochul is expected to deliver her State of the State address, her second since taking office, in January.
