Video, Audio, Photos & Rush Transcript: Governor Hochul Signs Legislation Strengthening New York’s Gun Safety Laws and Announces 53% Decline in Shootings

Earlier today, Governor Kathy Hochul signed three new laws to strengthen New York’s gun violence prevention efforts and keep New Yorkers safe. The Governor also unveiled new data showing a 53 percent decline in gun violence year-to-date, when compared to pandemic-era highs. As part of this year’s Budget, Governor Hochul is proposing a significant $370 million investment to fight gun violence and keep driving down crime.

VIDEO: The event is available to stream on YouTube here and TV quality video is available here (h.264, mp4).

AUDIO: The Governor's remarks are available in audio form here.

PHOTOS: The Governor's Flickr page has photos of the event here.

A rush transcript of the Governor's remarks is available below:

 Great to see everyone, and in a room where we just met for a couple of hours on important matters that you're all so vested in and I appreciate all your patience.

You know, when I first took office, I made a promise to New Yorkers that public safety would be my number one priority, and that I would do everything in my power to keep New Yorkers safe.

Since then, we have enacted the strongest gun safety laws in the nation. I'm extremely proud of this, particularly after the horrific shooting in my hometown of Buffalo on May 14, 2022 when a teenager gunned down 10 of my neighbors. And since then, we have been vigilant, diligent in trying to find ways that we can protect New Yorkers even more.

And while we had enormous success with those initiatives, then after the Supreme Court struck down — in the Bruen case — our right to protect people from concealed carry weapons, we came back together again and addressed that. And so, this is what we have to do. But instead of always being reactive, we are also proactive. And that's what today is all about.

So today, I'm going to be signing three important bills that further strengthen our gun laws. The first is adding pistol converters to the definition of rapid fire modification devices. And I want to thank our sponsors Senator Majority Leader Gianaris and Assemblymember Jeffrey Dinowitz. Thank you for your support. We'll be hearing from everybody in a few minutes.

Also strengthening the warnings that gun dealers must provide to customers about the risks of firearms. And that sponsor is Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal and Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon.

And the third is refining how credit card companies track purchases at gun dealerships. This gives law enforcement the opportunity to find out exactly who may be stockpiling ammunition. And this is an indicator that something untoward could be happening, so it's an important data point for us to have. And the sponsors, Senator Zellnor Myrie and Assemblymember Solages. So I appreciate their support as well. So the bottom line is the three pieces of legislation I'll be signing today with my colleagues will continue our efforts to make New Yorkers safer.

But I also want to say we've had a lot of accomplishments and you should all be proud of this. Since I took office, I've been tracking the data. One of the first things I did was create an interstate gun task force; the first in the nation. I think we now have 11 states that cooperate to share data and we've done a tremendous amount in getting guns off the streets in addition to our red flag laws. And we can take credit for 10,000 guns being off the streets of New York.

And here's the data I want you to know. It's brand new data: in 2025 shootings are down 53 percent, year-to-date, over the pre-pandemic peak or the pandemic peak of 2022, which is when I took office. Shootings are down 53 percent. Murders are down about 40 percent. That is extraordinary. And we were on a trajectory where the numbers kept going higher and higher and higher, and people were thinking, “When is this going to stop?” And we stood up and said, “No more.” And we together have invested over $2 billion in fighting crime in this state, and it is paying off.

These are local investments to help violence disruptor groups and help provide more resources and technology for police officers. I've increased the ranks of the State Police, and I'm really proud of that, and this is the lowest statewide shooting numbers in a decade.

So I just want to say this: we are doing what we can do, but republicans in Washington also have an opportunity to look at what we've done in a place like New York. I dare say there is not a Republican state that can match our statistics. Compare us to states that don't care about protecting their citizens, because you cannot say you're tough on crime, but be soft on guns, and that's what we're hearing out there all the time.

So I want others to look at our state as a model, do what we have done, because we are literally saving lives and the numbers don't lie. So we're going to continue to call on Republicans in Washington to stop blocking common sense legislation and protections against gun violence. And I'm really proud to sign these bills. And even this year we have another $370 million to assist in our gun violence disruptors and other programs.

So we know these laws save lives. And again, I could not be prouder to join all of our individuals and sponsors here today. Any of our sponsors want to say a couple words before I sign? Alright.