Teachers in New York could gain right to ask courts to strip guns from troubled students

ALBANY, N.Y. — New York may allow teachers to report troubled students to a judge to ensure they do not have access to guns.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday proposed a law — the "red flag bill" — that would give teachers and administrators the ability to file a petition with the courts to keep guns away from students who appear to pose a safety risk.

"This bill, if it passes, would be the first bill in the United States of America to give a teacher this recourse and this solution," Cuomo said at a news conference in Manhattan.

The measure comes amid the surge in school shootings across the nation and as gun-control advocates press for stronger laws in New York and in Washington, D.C.

But the bill faces an uphill battle in the Republican-led Senate with just two weeks left in this year's legislative session.

New York prohibits the purchase of firearms by anyone younger than 18, but for students who are younger, the measure could allow a judge to order a family to take additional steps to keep the guns away from their children, Cuomo said.

"If you have a young person in a home with guns in it, a judge could limit the access to those guns in the house," Cuomo explained.

Under current state law, a court can order firearms to be stripped from a person through a temporary order of protection.

But that can only happen during a criminal or family court proceeding.

So state officials said New York has no law that can allow a court to seize firearms from a person not already involved in a court case.

The proposal would allow police, family members and teachers — as well as school administrators, guidance counselors and other licensed school professionals — to petition the court if they believe a person is a threat.

The judge would then decide whether to issue an "extreme risk protection order."

Leaders of teachers unions praised the bill, saying it would provide another avenue for schools to try to protect staff and students.

"This is the kind of commonsense proposal that would actually help schools and help teachers and help kids," said Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers.

"When a nation loses more students to gun violence in a year than service members in combat, it’s time to act."

Republicans in the state Senate have not supported Democrats' recent measures on gun control, and even Cuomo doubted Republicans would support his latest plan.

Cuomo had already proposed extending the background-check waiting period to buy a firearm from three days to 10 days. Last month, he said the age to buy a firearm should be raised from 18 to 21.

Republicans, meanwhile, have wanted laws that include funding to add resource officers in schools.

There was no immediate comment on Cuomo's plan from the Republican-controlled Senate.

Cuomo said that if the gun-control measures weren't approved before session ended June 20, the bills would become a campaign issue.

Republicans are clinging to a one-seat majority in the Senate with the help of a Democrat who sits with the GOP, but one member is away on active military duty.

"The Republicans in Albany have recently been mimicking the Republicans in Washington," Cuomo charged.

"And I think they would not support the bill now."

More:Texas weighs 'red flag' laws to remove guns temporarily from homes of dangerous people

More:Parkland students honor those lost at graduation, plan next phase for their gun-control movement

More:She carried an AR on Kent State. Now she wants to arm wrestle David Hogg for 2nd Amendment

Follow Joseph Spector, chief of USA TODAY Network's Albany Bureau, on Twitter: @GannettAlbany.