Griffo Urges Assembly To Pass Brittany’s Law

Senator Joseph Griffo, joined by his colleagues in the State Senate, is calling on the Assembly to pass the Domestic Violence Prevention Act known as “Brittany’s Law”

The law would develop a statewide database for domestic violence offenders

"Brittany's Law" would require convicted domestic violence offenders to register with the state Division of Criminal Justice Services upon parole or release from prison.

The information would then be available to the public through a registry similar to the one used for sexual offenders under Megan's Law.

The legislation, which was co-sponsored by Griffo, was drafted in response to the murder of 12-year-old Brittany Passalacqua and her mother, Helen Buchel of Geneva.

Griffo said, “People should know if the man or woman they are considering a relationship with has punched, beat or choked another person in a past crime of domestic violence. How many times must a violent abuser show they are capable of severely hurting someone before we accept that the public has the right to protect themselves from these dangerous and potentially homicidal individuals? Since violent abusers are often manipulative and effective at covering their hostile behavior until it is too late, I believe we have an obligation to create a domestic violence registry to ensure that these convicted offenders cannot hide from their aggressive pasts.”