New York Woman Sues State Over Gun Confiscation

A woman from New York is suing the state because she never received legal counsel following the wrongful confiscation of her firearms in 2015.

Donna McKay checked herself into a hospital in April of last year when she suffered an anxiety attack after taking cold medicine. She was mistakenly placed on a list of people who had been involuntarily hospitalized, which, under New York’s SAFE Act, made her subject to firearm confiscation.

While the state eventually returned her property, she was forced to defend herself at the hearing and is still listed on the FBI’s list of people prohibited from purchasing firearms.

“No one facing federal and state disqualification from the ownership, use, and possession of firearms should represent themselves at a license hearing,” Paloma Capanna said in a prepared statement about the suit she has filed on behalf of Donna McKay.

According to the New York Law Journal, Yates County Court Judge W. Patrick Falvey said medical records clearly indicate that McKay voluntarily entered hospitalized care, circumstances that do not constitute “commitment.”

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