Governor Andrew Cuomo has signed legislation that will require domestic abusers give up their guns.
“If you have a domestic violence perpetrator, or you have a person with an order of protection - take away the gun. You know the situation is volatile,” Cuomo said.
He called it common sense, saying that 4.5 million women in the country have been threatened with a gun. Cuomo said in domestic violence incidents where a gun is involved, the woman is five times more likely to be killed.
“The nexus between guns and domestic violence because domestic violence is horrendous in and of itself. When you add a gun to the mix, it becomes a toxic volatile combination,” Cuomo said.
The governor also announced a measure that extends the background check waiting period from three to 10 days.
“The three days is ludicrous. In the State of New York, we're going to extend the three days to 10 days, so we have the time to do a right background check,” Cuomo said.
Governor Cuomo touted his efforts to strengthen New York’s gun laws after the school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut that left 26 people dead. He also criticized lawmakers in Washington D.C. for failing to take any action on the federal level.
“Why aren't we getting change in Washington? Because you have an extreme, conservative contingent that is owned by the NRA. That has to be resolved or we will be having this press conference over, and over, and over, and over again,” Cuomo said.
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