By Mary Malloy
³I have been pushing this for a long time,² said Assemblyman Bob Barra, a Republican who represents the 14th Assembly District. ³I led the debate on the floor this weekend. It looked good recently when [the bill] was moved from the Mental Health Committee to the Rules Committee.²
Barra said that the proposed bill, which has been in the works for about five years, included many of the provisions of his original ³Father Larry¹s Law.² It would require the director or physician in charge of any public or private hospital or mental institution to certify that a person confined to such a facility should not possess firearms due to violent behavior resulting from their mental illness. This information would be entered into a database and used for background checks in New York.
³I am a cosponsor of this legislation,² Barra said, ³and have been working closely with Assemblyman Joe Lentol to hone in on a bill that the entire Assembly can support.² Lentol is a Democrat from Brooklyn.
Barra¹s original bill was named for the Rev. Lawrence ³Larry² Penzes, who was shot and killed in March 2002 as he conducted morning Mass at Our Lady of Peace Catholic Church in Lynbrook. Longtime parishioner Eileen Tosner was also murdered.
The gunman, Peter J. Troy of Lynbrook, was convicted in June 2002 of two counts of first-degree murder, and was later sentenced to life in prison without parole. Troy had a history of mental problems, having been hospitalized in both Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan and Nassau County Medical Center for irrational behavior. He purchased the .22 rifle with which he committed the murders from a Mineola gun store.
³For five years this bill has died in the Assembly¹s Standing Committee on Mental Health,² Barra said. ³However, with the recent events at Virginia Tech, I have been pressing the committee extremely hard to discharge this bill and bring it to the floor for a vote by the Assembly.
³The tragic shooting at the Lynbrook church a few years ago, and now the tragedy at Virginia Tech, emphasize the need for this vital legislation,² Barra continued. ³We must make certain that those who suffer from mental illness and show violent behavior do not have the chance to purchase firearms.²
The bill will now go to the state Senate. ³How many more situations do we have to see before something is done?² asked Barra. ³A lot of tragedy can be averted with the passing of this law.²
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