Hochul Urges Federal Gun Ban, Slams Medicaid Cuts in Emotional Interview

ALBANY, N.Y.—In a poignant interview on ABC 7’s “Up Close with Bill Ritter” on August 3, 2025, New York Governor Kathy Hochul called for a federal ban on assault weapons, citing a recent tragic shooting in New York City that left the city grieving. Expressing frustration with Congress and the President for lacking the “political courage” to act, she highlighted New York’s stringent gun laws, which have made it one of the safest large states, yet stressed the need for national action to prevent such “weapons of mass destruction” from being sold. Hochul also lambasted federal budget cuts, warning that 1.5 million New Yorkers could lose Medicaid coverage, threatening the state’s healthcare system and rural and urban communities alike. Her remarks, infused with empathy for victims’ families and a resolve to fight for change, underscored her dual role as a leader and a compassionate New Yorker.

Audio & Rush Transcript: Governor Hochul Is a Guest on ABC 7’s ‘Up Close With Bill Ritter’

Governor Hochul: “Why do we even allow these weapons of mass destruction to be sold anywhere in America? Other countries have completely banned them. Why can’t Congress? And the President step up and say, “This is it no more. It’s gone on too long. There’s too much pain and bloodshed.” It takes political courage and unfortunately there’s an incredible lack of it in this country, and I have been calling for this for many years. Why are these [guns] allowed anywhere in the great United States of America? I don’t understand it, but Congress has to step up. The President — this could be his moment. Show you have the courage to look out for people and not the NRA.”

Hochul: “We’ve worked so hard to ensure that we had health care for all. We have about 95 percent coverage right now for health care, but so much of that relies on Medicaid. One third of all New Yorkers are on Medicaid, especially the rural poor — I mean, it’s not just an urban issue — and half of all children in New York are on Medicaid. Process that. That is chilling to know that the Trump administration, as well as the members of Congress who voted for this — and again, all seven Republicans in the State of New York voted for this, and they know it’s hurting their districts; they know it’s hurting the people who live on the farms, and in rural communities and in our urban areas. They don’t care, and that’s what’s so sad about this.”

Earlier today, Governor Kathy Hochul was a guest on ABC 7’s “Up Close with Bill Ritter” to discuss numerous issues impacting New York State.

AUDIO: The Governor’s interview is available in audio form here.

A rush transcript of the Governor’s interview is available below:

Bill Ritter, ABC 7: Governor, thank you for joining us on “Up Close” again, appreciate you being here.

Governor Hochul: Thank you. Bill.

Bill Ritter, ABC 7: I know this is just the way this city is right now, is heartbroken, shocked, and I know you’re reflecting some of that. I said on the air last night that it’s okay to feel terrible because we’re all feeling terrible. The big picture here – what’s it like for you having to talk to all these people who are really heartbroken?

Governor Hochul: We’re elected officials, and we have to lead during crises like this, but we’re also human beings and we can’t shake that sense of empathy for people. When I spoke just over the last couple days to the family of one of the security guards, 46-year-old who lost his life that day, or the widow of the police officer – in broken English, she just said, “Can you pray for us?” And she’s eight months pregnant with two little ones. The husband of an incredible star executive. So I just speak to all them as if I was in their shoes and try to say, “I can’t imagine what it’s like to go home and not have your most beloved person in the world in bed with you tonight.” So it’s hard, but we have to rise up because the city needs people who have a steady hand that’ll convey the confidence to get us through this because we’re New Yorkers, we always endure and survive.

Bill Ritter, ABC 7: It also seemed that the victims here were part of the wide range of the various people that make up New York City.

Governor Hochul: That’s exactly right. That’s a great observation. You have a police officer, a Bangladeshi refugee immigrant whose father was so proud of him. His wife and family are – for someone to come here with very little to rise up to become an NYPD officer. That’s extraordinary for these families. And so there’s a lot of pride there. There’s a lot of pain with the loss.

Bill Ritter, ABC 7: You went to the 4-7 Precinct for an event that was emotional, I imagine

Governor Hochul: It was. This was the shift that Officer Islam was on. And so these mostly young men were all lined up in formation for their roll call. They’d do it every morning at 6:30. And he was missing. And I cannot imagine what that’s like – that their friend – I mean he was such an outgoing, friendly person that people really cared about him. So this is a family – NYPD – when you’re in a precinct together, you’re in the bunker. You’re in stress like none of us can imagine. And they support each other

So their family has been shattered, and I just wanted to talk to them today with Mayor Adams, who I think has really risen to this occasion in an extraordinary way, channeling his own experience as a police officer and how his mother used to be so worried about him every day when he went to work, when he was out in the streets because you never know if this is the day that you’ve said your final goodbye. So I think he’s done a great job.

Our Commissioner of Police, Jessica Tisch – not on the job that long, but she acts like she’s been a veteran for years. She’s really a real pro. And again, confidence is important. She conveys confidence that we’re going to be okay, New York, we’re going to get through this.

Bill Ritter, ABC 7: We are going to get through that. And what do we do going forward to try to stop this? You don’t see a guy walking around with an armed rifle like that. Semi-automatic. You just don’t see that in the streets of New York.

Governor Hochul: You don’t see that because we banned them in New York.

Bill Ritter, ABC 7: Right, right. But it wasn’t banned. It was right there in the middle of the street for everyone to see.

Governor Hochul: No, that’s what’s so shocking about it, Bill. That was so shocking. In the State of New York, we have the toughest gun laws in America. What does that mean? We are the lowest homicide-by-gun rate – almost in the country. I think, of the entire country, we’re number three after Massachusetts and New Jersey were tied. We’re number one when it comes to large states.

So the laws make a difference. So where we go from here, first of all, we look at other states, the State of Nevada – someone with mental health problems can buy a gun. We have much stricter laws than that, but why do we even allow these weapons of mass destruction to be sold anywhere in America? Other countries have completely banned them. Why can’t Congress and the President step up and say, “This is it no more. It’s gone on too long. There’s too much pain and bloodshed.”

Bill Ritter, ABC 7: Why can’t they step up and do it?

Governor Hochul: It takes political courage and unfortunately there’s an incredible lack of it in this country, and I have been calling for this for many years. It was just three years , my hometown of Buffalo experienced something similar scale, but even larger. 10 innocent Buffalonians grocery shopping on a Saturday morning in May didn’t walk out there. They were gunned down with an assault weapon with an enhanced magazine — at high capacity so they could slaughter people. Why are these allowed anywhere in the great United States of America? I don’t understand it, but Congress has to step up. The President — this could be his moment. Show you have the courage to look out for people and not the NRA.

Bill Ritter, ABC 7: Do you believe the odds are on that, on the side of the President doing that?

Governor Hochul: You know what? I’m always surprised. I’m always willing to make the case and let people know how important this is, and you never know what is going to be a breakthrough moment. This is President Trump’s hometown. He knows these streets. He knows these buildings. And so if there’s anyone who might understand the incredible vulnerability that people have when they’re going to their jobs every single day in Midtown not ever thinking something like this could happen, but it was this weapon that was brought in by another state that never should have even been in this country.

Bill Ritter, ABC 7: The place where this happened was not far from where Trump Tower is.

Governor Hochul: No.

Bill Ritter, ABC 7: Not far at all. So let’s talk about that — the building on Park Avenue and Midtown had security. Do we need to crack down on security even more among the buildings?

Governor Hochul: I will say, this building had all you could ask for in my opinion. I, and again, there’ll be security experts who decide if something more can be done. In my opinion, I’ve been in that building, it takes a lot to get upstairs. But here you have a first line of defense. The building took the extra step of hiring an NYPD officer off duty — who is more trained than that? So they’re there on the front to stop him from coming in, but you can’t anticipate someone walking in off the street carrying a military-style assault weapon and gunning down the first person they see — the police officer. So, other systems were not working because triggers to stop the elevators from leaving — you’re counting on a person who’s alive to be able to push the button and stop the elevator from moving. A person was killed.

Bill Ritter, ABC 7: Yeah.

Governor Hochul: The security guard was killed. So I think it seems to me that the people in the building were well aware of active shooter training. They demonstrated that the way they barricaded themselves, and so this is something that businesses are not doing, that all of your employees should have this training. We used to do it in schools as well, have everyone prepared for this, what you do. But this is unthinkable. It’s hard to imagine a scenario where you actually could have prevented this if this person was intent on slaughtering innocent human beings. It’s hard to stop that.

Bill Ritter, ABC 7: We are doing something. We as a City, the Mayor’s doing that too, of trying to stop guns in this City. We don’t have to deal that much with rifles like this, but we do. I mean, I’m going to get these numbers. 3000 so far this year, they have eliminated more than 22,000 since the mayor became mayor back in 2022. So things have been done, especially with gangs.

Governor Hochul: We’re doing the same at the state level. When I first became Governor, I redeployed our state police from just giving out tickets on the New York State Thruway to being part of the front line to interdict guns that are coming in from other states. They’re not manufactured here, so every gun you see has come in from another state. The Iron Pipeline coming up I-95 or from Pennsylvania, there’s a lot of gun shows, and it takes nothing to drive down 81, go to a gun show, load up the trunk, bring them up 81 and come on over to the Bronx. And that’s what was happening. We broke that up. We’ve been working really hard with the mayor, but all across the state.

I’m responsible for public safety across the state and we’ve made tremendous progress, but also with our red flag laws. I want to explain what this is.

Bill Ritter, ABC 7: Yeah.

Governor Hochul: Every state should be doing this. What it says if someone has mental health problems or has demonstrated the possibility that they could harm themselves or others. That the police can have the opportunity to go in and ask questions, confiscate a gun if necessary. I just got my daily report today. We’ve confiscated 4,300 guns from people who’ve not committed a crime, but experts have said, could have caused a crime, could have hurt someone with that gun. So, we take it outta their hands before that happens.

Bill Ritter, ABC 7: And yet you say, and you, everyone says, who’s elected officer here says, we have cut down on the gun killings here in the city and in the state. But it doesn’t take much to get people to be scared —

Governor Hochul: No.

Bill Ritter, ABC 7: —of what’s happening.

Governor Hochul: No, one is too many. You’ll never sit there and say, oh, mission accomplished.

Bill Ritter, ABC 7: So what do you tell the people in New York who are saying, and we’re feeling this? We said at the top of this interview, you know, you see that people are so heartbroken about this and shocked.

Governor Hochul: They’re heartbroken and they’re shocked, and maybe that comes from the fact that it’s not an everyday occurrence. The rarity of this makes it so shocking. The scale of this is so shocking. This does not happen. It hasn’t happened to this scale in 25 years in New York City. It’s hard for me to talk statistics. I can tell you that we had zero murders all the way from January to May in the city. Our subway crimes, are historic — not historic lows, but lows before — since the pandemic.

We have NYPD patrolling the trains at night — the State of New York is paying for that to support the Mayor and his efforts. So, we’re doing a lot. I have a thousand National Guard I put in the subways when subway crimes started going up, so we’re doing all this.

When I tell people, statistics are down and therefore you should feel better, it doesn’t work. It’s not going to work that way. It’s an emotional reaction to the circumstances, and it’s very human. We tell them, “We understand that. We’re still working hard every single day with the finest law enforcement forces in the world to protect you, and keep you and your family safe.”

Bill Ritter, ABC 7: I want to move to a couple other things, but I want to give you a last word on this subject. Have you said everything you wanted to say? Do you want to say anything else to people out there who are listening and are still going to be nervous about this?

Governor Hochul: Our city’s grieving.

Bill Ritter, ABC 7: Yeah.

Governor Hochul: It doesn’t get any worse than this.

Bill Ritter, ABC 7: Yeah.

Governor Hochul: That’s shattering that sense of security. It’s gone, but we’ve had this happen before — 9/11 is the most glaring example. The next day people got up and they dusted themselves off; they went to work and we started healing. But, if there’s an opportunity to bring us closer, to have more empathy. As I walk into buildings now, I’m paying close attention to the security guards out front and I’m saying, “Thank you for sitting there,” because we know they’re vulnerable to this and they have to be frightened as well.

So, I think it’s just an opportunity to show humanity to each other. New Yorkers have a reputation of being tough and jaded — we’re all human beings.

Bill Ritter, ABC 7: You know, I did this this morning on the way to work and I stopped at the subway. Two cops were out there and I said, “Thank you, gentlemen—

Governor Hochul: Yeah.

Bill Ritter, ABC 7: “—for being on duty.”

Governor Hochul: That goes a long way.

Bill Ritter, ABC 7: They were so, I think, wonderfully pleased by that.

Governor Hochul: Everyone should do that.

Bill Ritter, ABC 7: Yeah, I agree with that. I do have some questions to ask you, and I know you don’t want to talk too many specific politics about the elections and everything else, but I do want to talk to you about some of the things that we are going to be affected by, by what’s happening in Washington.

17 million people in the country are losing their medical care. The Big Beautiful Budget that we heard so much about by the President — it’s going to have a huge impact on states, including New York. How many people are going to really get hurt, and what does it mean for you who has got to fund this somehow?

Governor Hochul: It’s devastating. It is so unnecessary that we had seven Republican members of Congress here in the State of New York. If even just a couple of them have stood up and said, “I’m not voting for this because it hurts my constituents,” it would never have happened, but here’s what we’re going to face: 1.5 million New Yorkers will lose their health care.

We have hundreds of thousands who will lose their food benefits, the SNAP benefits. That’s how we’re keeping kids from going hungry in the State of New York.

Bill Ritter, ABC 7: Hold on. You’re saying 10 percent of the people who are going to lose their health care is in New York?

Governor Hochul: Oh, yes — 1.5 million. Yes, yes.

Bill Ritter, ABC 7: 10 percent in one state.

Governor Hochul: Yes. And we’ve worked so hard to ensure that we had health care for all. We have about 95 percent coverage right now for health care, but so much of that relies on Medicaid. One third of all New Yorkers are on Medicaid, especially the rural poor — I mean, it’s not just an urban issue — and half of all children in New York are on Medicaid. Process that.

That is chilling to know that the Trump administration, as well as the members of Congress who voted for this — and again, all seven Republicans in the State of New York voted for this, and they know it’s hurting their districts; they know it’s hurting the people who live on the farms, and in rural communities and in our urban areas. They don’t care, and that’s what’s so sad about this.

I mean, don’t you care? This is what lifts people out of poverty. Health care is so expensive. What are they supposed to do?

Bill Ritter, ABC 7: So how do you make up for that financially?

Governor Hochul: Well, it’s going to be challenging. I mean, the health care industry overall in New York State is going to take a $13.5 billion cut as a result of this. So hospitals will not get the money they’re accustomed to; people with disabilities living in group homes will not get the assistance they’re accustomed to; our nursing homes won’t get the support they need. So, all of this is on the chopping block.

The State of New York has to make up $3 billion next year — $3 billion, $750 million this year — but the whole system itself could collapse under this, and I’m not exaggerating. Health care institutions, hospitals, many of them are on the brink of collapse right now just hanging on. When they lose that support and Medicaid dollars from coming in, they may not make it.

Bill Ritter, ABC 7: So what does that mean for the average New Yorker who, let’s say, has a good job and is going to be hurt tremendously by this? You have to raise taxes, right?

Governor Hochul: Here’s what happens, is that someone may not be on Medicaid, they may never think about it, but if they have to now go to a hospital that either has smaller staff because they’d have cutbacks or a hospital closes, then they and their families are affected as well.

People need to think about this beyond just the people that — they may think it’s just Medicaid recipients, it’s going to affect everyone.

Bill Ritter, ABC 7: Do you try to get people who may have left New York and get them back?

Governor Hochul: Love to have them back.

Bill Ritter, ABC 7: Well, how do you do that?

Governor Hochul: You know I think we have to create an environment where people feel that we’re supportive of businesses number one. Businesses are our job creators, so this hostility toward businesses that existed a number of years . I support our small businesses, I want small businesses to grow and become big businesses. I want big businesses to hire more of our residents and give them the dignity of a good job every day. So we just have to change the perception of this environment, and I’m doing everything I can to make New York more affordable.

Bill Ritter, ABC 7: So a lot of people think, and they’re going to give blame this on what Mr. Trump did to cut all this, a lot of people think that with the upcoming election that Mr. Trump is going to want to have a say over what’s happening in this city. Without getting into the weeds about who’s running for what, how big a problem is that going to be?

Governor Hochul: Well, not just the city, but if someone who’s a MAGA Republican gets elected as governor — and there’s one probably running –

Bill Ritter, ABC 7: against you –

Governor Hochul: against me, think about the power that Donald Trump will have over everything in the state, including the city. That’s what should give people great pause.

Bill Ritter, ABC 7: You’re talking about Congresswoman Elise Stefanik and the President would like her to run against you.

Governor Hochul: Sure he would, sure he would.

Bill Ritter, ABC 7: She doesn’t talk very nicely about you, She doesn’t talk very nicely about anybody running for office in New York.

Governor Hochul: No.

Bill Ritter, ABC 7: There’s one man who’s running for office, and she calls him a commie man. He’s not a communist, I think we could say that. And she’s making fun of people.

Governor Hochul: No, it’s pathetic. Especially at the time when we’re a city that’s in mourning, to be taking cheap shots and trying to infer that he had something to do with this. I mean come on, people are smarter than that, don’t try to make this a political moment for you. People are suffering, have some humanity.

Bill Ritter, ABC 7: He made the deal that he didn’t want one congressman from the middle of the state to run against her and run against you. If he got the election from the primary. He’s playing a role in this.

Governor Hochul: It’s his home state, I’m not surprised,

Bill Ritter, ABC 7: But he wants to also maybe do this if someone else gets elected. So how big a worry is that for you?

Governor Hochul: You know, he’ll do what he does. I have to manage whatever happens, right? I’ve seen him not just these horrible cuts that are going to hurt New Yorkers at every level, but even something like interfering with congestion pricing. Now, love it or hate it. This is a local matter for the state to manage with the MTA to have a funding source but also to drive down traffic and to increase safety. And for them to be worried about our local management of traffic and make a big deal about saying, “I’m shutting it down – I’m shutting it down.” Well, I stood up and said, “No, you’re not. This is our decision, President Trump, It’s our decision.” And so I’ve been fighting them almost since the beginning of his administration to keep congestion pricing alive and say this is about local control, local autonomy, and get your hands off of New York City.

Bill Ritter, ABC 7: Will you have to fight him in battle on this politically?

Governor Hochul: Of course, yeah. I’ve done it before, I’m up for the challenge.

Bill Ritter, ABC 7: One more question. And it has nothing to do with what we just talked about but something that got our eye and in the news this week.The state sort of seemed to botch a cannabis licensing program and they allowed places to get too close to schools and places of worship. What’s the status of that? What can you do to help that?

Governor Hochul: It’s complicated, but the state law that was passed before I became governor said that you could have cannabis shops 500 feet from a school, 500 feet from the boundary of the school, right. Like if you have a large campus that’s 500 feet from the edge. The people who were running it at the time interpreted it differently and said it’s 500 feet from the front door. So what it meant was a lot of licenses that had been issued are no longer legal under the law. So I stood up and I was saying, listen, I’m not going to let these people be hurt. We can get the law changed in the next session, but I’m not going to make someone who put their life savings into this business doing what they thought was right. I’m going to stand up for them and say, we’ll find a path forward, don’t worry. And we’ll make sure we get the changes in the legislature. Because I don’t want anyone who’s worked so hard and put their heart and soul into this business to have to be subjected to something that was more of a bureaucratic screw up but has real life consequences.

Bill Ritter, ABC 7: 4,700 different things on your desk and I appreciate you taking the time talking about that. Last word about this, I appreciate you coming here.

Governor Hochul: Thank you.

Bill Ritter, ABC 7: You didn’t have to do that. But I think that people want to hear from the governor. You have been on the streets since it happened and you’re trying to say, “Hey, we can get over this. This was wrong what happened. And we have to fight that, but we can also hug each other and say, we have to get by this.”

Governor Hochul: Well said, Bill, I totally agree, and it’s my job to do this. It’s also as I said, I’m a mom, a wife, and I am very empathetic. It’s something I learned from my own mother who understood and actually felt other people’s pain. I have that shame trait, so their pain becomes absorbed into me, and I use that to channel the motivation to carry on a fight to ban assault weapons in their name.

Bill Ritter, ABC 7: Governor Hochul, thank you for joining us.

Governor Hochul: Alright, Thank you Bill.

August 3, 2025

Albany, NY

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