Gun control on horizon for next Albany session

Assemb. Charles Lavine (D-Glen Cove) is leading an effort to make gun control a major issue in the 2016 legislative session.

He proposes five bills, including measures that would require longer stretches in prison for gun crimes and empowering families to obtain court orders to remove guns from a relative showing signs of danger.

“This topic, which has been the third rail of politics for so long, is no longer,” Lavine said last week.

Democratic candidate for president Hillary Rodham Clinton, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo are also pushing the issue, which divides the Senate’s Republican majority.
Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan (R-East Northport) said he wants to address “overarching” mental health solutions in the debate.