Suffolk Leads State in Gun Confiscations

With more than 1,400 Suffolk residents having their guns taken away from them over the last 13 months through New York’s Red Flag Law, the county leads the state by far in gun confiscations. The weapons grab escalated after Gov. Kathy Hochul, in response to a mass shooting at a Buffalo supermarket, issued an Executive Order requiring law enforcement agencies to more aggressively seize weapons from those deemed dangerous through Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPOs).

Police in Suffolk were the most active, taking guns from 1,407 people with the rest of the state having 3,302 of the ERPOs in place, according to a government chart. The statistics show a dramatic increase in seizures following Hochul’s order. Buffalo’s Erie County had 267.

“We have a lot of buy-in in Suffolk County with the county executive, the sheriff and courts,” said Kate Fohrkolb, assistant deputy police commissioner for Suffolk. “We really have a lot of stakeholders who see the value in all this, and we work together. It’s a great tool, and it’s another way for officers to prevent another violent act,” Fohrkolb said. “We just want to help keep people safe.”

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Hochul issued her order four days after the Buffalo shooting and a few weeks later, the state legislature joined her in approving a new law expanding the executive order to all law enforcement agencies and district attorneys. "After 10 of my neighbors in Buffalo were murdered in a mass shooting, I wanted to make sure New York used every possible tool we had to get guns away from dangerous individuals and protect New Yorkers,” Hochul said. “Through executive action and working with the legislature, I strengthened our gun safety laws, including our Red Flag Laws, and these actions are working, helping keep New Yorkers safe.”

The Red Flag law is facing court challenges. Monroe and Orange counties won rulings in favor of their argument that the law doesn’t provide due process to individuals and violates the Second Amendment. Justice Craig Stephen Brown, sitting in Orange County, said a medical or mental health expert — not law enforcement — should determine whether a person is a threat to himself or others. Both lawsuits are under appeal by the state.