Days after the massacre of school children in Texas and one week after Governor Kathy Hochul issued an executive order directing counties to develop a plan to address violent domestic terrorism, members of the Albany County Legislature’s Public Safety Committee began determining how threats of violence can be curtailed in the County.

During Thursday’s Public Safety Committee, legislators and the Albany County Sheriff’s Office began the first of many conversations into the specifics of the plan, including a timeframe for a draft, which is to be presented to the Legislature in October 2022.

Albany County already has a Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan in place which includes policies and procedures to recognize terroristic threats. The County will review the plan to add amendments according to the guidelines provided by the Governor’s office.

“Tonight Albany County has taken the first step towards a stronger and more thorough plan regarding domestic terrorism and gun violence mitigation,” said Albany County Legislature Chairman Andrew Joyce. “The overall proliferation of guns in our neighborhoods makes violence an everyday reality for many in Albany County. We look forward to doing what we can, with what we have, to make our communities safe.”

“I certainly hope this committee will play an important part with the Sheriff’s Office to develop this plan as we have a lot of experienced individuals on this committee that can help the Sheriff along the way,” said Public Safety Committee Chairman Bill Clay. “We are supportive of the Governor’s efforts to curb gun violence and we hope that we can do more going forward.”

The Legislature has long made it a priority to address the violence plaguing communities in the County and been looking into policies that can curb gun violence in the wake of such tragedies. As such, this week, the Legislature called on the federal government to act by reinstating an assault weapons ban proven to be effective at reducing gun murders.