§ 1056-A Firearms; surrender and license suspension, revocation and ineligibility

When a family court judge issues an order of protection, or if someone breaks the rules of that order, the judge must also decide what happens to that person's guns. The judge follows the rules laid out in Section 842-a to make this decision.

This usually means the person may have to hand over any firearms they own. It can also mean their gun license gets suspended or taken away completely. On top of that, the judge can block the person from getting a gun license in the future.

The point of this rule is safety. If someone is under a protective order, courts want to reduce the risk that they could use a gun to hurt the person they're ordered to stay away from. This applies both when the order is first put in place and if the person later violates it.