Hochul Codifies Gun Violence Office Into Law, Critics Question Priorities Amid Ongoing Public Safety Challenges

New York Governor Kathy Hochul has formally signed into law a measure making New York’s Office of Gun Violence Prevention a permanent fixture, turning a previously temporary executive creation into a fully funded state agency.

While the move has been hailed by supporters as a countermeasure to former President Donald Trump’s elimination of the federal equivalent, critics suggest the action leans more political than practical. Lawmakers have gone on to say that the measure does little to nothing for public safety and youth crime remain unresolved across the state.

Originally created in 2021 under Governor Andrew Cuomo’s executive order declaring gun violence a disaster emergency, the office began with a modest $500,000 budget. Its new legal status under Hochul now comes with a $3 million operating budget.

Framing the move as a “rebuke” to Trump’s dismantling of the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, Hochul positioned her administration as a defender of public safety and data-driven solutions. But not everyone is convinced that bureaucracy and symbolism will yield the needed results on the ground.

The newly enshrined office is tasked with supporting violence interruption strategies, identifying funding streams, promoting public awareness, and compiling gun crime data. That data must now be included in annual reports. The transparency is welcomed by Democrats, but skeptics question whether more reports and press releases will make communities safer.

While Hochul trumpeted a statewide decrease in firearm-involved violent crimes - 9,772 such incidents in 2023 compared to 12,788 in 2021 - those numbers still exceed pre-pandemic levels. In 2019, the state recorded 7,912 violent crimes involving a firearm, suggesting that the post-COVID rebound in violence is far from fully addressed.

National trends offer a similar story: according to data from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, gun homicide rates dropped from 6.66 per 100,000 people in 2021 to 5.63 by 2023. Still, that’s markedly higher than 2019’s 4.59 rate. This is another indication that gun violence, while down from peak pandemic levels, remains elevated.

Meanwhile, some law enforcement officials argue that the structural underpinnings of New York’s criminal justice system, many of which were championed or preserved under Hochul’s leadership, may be fueling youth gun crime. New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch pointed to a 136% spike in gun-related arrests among minors since the implementation of the state’s “Raise the Age” reforms.

These changes diverted 16 and 17-year-olds from the adult criminal justice system to a more lenient, rehabilitation-focused alternative.

Most of this occurs in Family Court.

While well-intentioned, the law’s effects on public safety remain controversial and heavily condemned by law enforcement agencies and district attorney's offices statewide.

Despite these trends and the complex causes of gun violence, Hochul’s move to institutionalize the Office of Gun Violence Prevention is seen by some as a political maneuver aimed at drawing sharp contrast with the Trump administration, rather than addressing the root causes of firearm-related crime.

Hochul Codifies Gun Violence Office Into Law, Critics Question Priorities Amid Ongoing Public Safety Challenges