Rochester Mayor Malik D. Evans said, “I want to thank Governor Hochul and our representatives in the New York State Legislature for taking these reasonable steps to strengthen New York`s gun laws. These sweeping reforms will aim to keep weapons out of the hands of those who intend to use them to kill or injure others and to reduce the flow of illegal weapons into the iron pipeline that fuels unprecedented levels of violence on our streets. I am proud to live in a state that is a leader in gun safety, which is becoming one of the most important political debates of our time. Indeed, in the first year of President Biden`s term, the Biden-Harris administration made more progress in executive action to reduce gun violence than any other administration in its first year. Since taking office, President Biden has announced four sets of executive measures: an initial set of actions during a speech at the Rose Garden in April, a comprehensive strategy to reduce gun crime, measures to promote the safe storage of firearms, and additional measures by the Department of Justice to enforce our gun laws and keep guns at gunpoint. fire out of dangerous hands. These executive actions represent a whole-of-government approach and engage the departments of Justice, Veterans Affairs, Defence, Transportation, Health and Social Services, Labour, Homeland Security, Education and Housing, and Urban Development with the common goal of reducing gun violence. Highlights of these actions include three major Justice Department frameworks, the Agency`s guidelines promoting the use of hundreds of billions of dollars from the U.S. bailout to reduce gun violence, and historic advances in promoting violent action in the community.
Today, the Biden-Harris administration is announcing six initial steps to combat the epidemic of gun violence in public health. The recent mass shootings in Boulder, which killed 10 people, and Atlanta – which killed eight people, including six Asian-American women – underscored the relentlessness of this epidemic. Armed violence claims lives and leaves a lasting legacy of trauma in communities every day in this country, even if not in the late-night news. In fact, cities across the country are in the midst of a historic surge in homicides, violence that disproportionately affects black and brown Americans. The president pledged to take steps to reduce all forms of gun violence — communal violence, mass shootings, domestic violence and gun suicide. President Biden reiterates his call for Congress to pass legislation to reduce gun violence. Last month, a bipartisan coalition in the House of Representatives passed two bills aimed at closing loopholes in the gun background check system. Congress should close these loopholes and go further, including closing the “boyfriend” and harassment loopholes that currently allow those deemed perpetrators by the courts to possess firearms, ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, lift gun manufacturers` immunity from liability, and invest in evidence-based violence interventions in the community.
Congress should also pass a corresponding national “red flag” law, as well as laws encouraging states to pass their own “red flag” laws. But this administration will not wait for Congress to act to take its own actions — fully under the authority of the administration and the Second Amendment — to save lives. Today, the government is announcing the following six initial measures: The Department of Justice will introduce draft regulations within 30 days to stop the spread of “ghost guns.” We are seeing a growing problem: criminals buy kits that contain almost all the components and instructions to fill a firearm in just 30 minutes and use those guns to commit crimes. When these firearms appear at crime scenes, they often cannot be traced by law enforcement due to the lack of a serial number. The Department of Justice will publish draft regulations to stop the proliferation of these firearms. The Department of Justice will publish a proposed rule within 60 days to clarify when a device marketed as a stabilizing orthosis effectively converts a pistol into a short-barrelled rifle subject to the requirements of the National Firearms Act. The alleged shooter in last month`s block tragedy appears to have used a gun with an armrest that can make a gun more stable and accurate while remaining hidden. The Justice Department will issue “red flag” legislation for states within 60 days. Flag laws allow family members or law enforcement agencies to seek a court order temporarily prohibiting people in crisis from accessing firearms if they pose a danger to themselves or others. The president calls on Congress to pass appropriate national “red flag” legislation, as well as laws encouraging states to pass their own “red flag” laws.
In the meantime, model legislation published by the Department of Justice will make it easier for states wishing to enact red flag laws to do so. The government is investing in evidence-based interventions against violence in the community. Community violence interventions are proven strategies to reduce gun violence in urban communities through tools other than incarceration. As cities across the country experience a historic rise in homicides, the Biden-Harris administration is taking a number of steps to prioritize investments in interventions against community violence. New York City Mayor Eric Adams said, “The sea of gun violence has no single point of origin, but these 10 laws will stem some of the rivers that lead to this sea. Through our investments in prevention and response, I am confident that these laws will continue the reduction in shootings we have seen in New York over the past two months. I have already supported and fought many of these efforts, including microstamps, in the legislature, and I am pleased that we are taking action today to prevent New York from becoming the next Buffalo, Uvalde, Orlando, Columbine or Sandy Hook. I thank Governor Hochul and our legislative leaders for taking urgent action to save lives. New York Attorney General Letitia James said: “Today, New York is taking swift and comprehensive action to combat the epidemic of gun violence that continues to claim innocent Americans` lives every day. Across the country, loopholes, lax laws and inaction by authorities allow guns to spread on our streets and devastate our communities.
With this new set of gun laws, New York will continue to take the lead in establishing reasonable gun laws that keep our citizens safe, and I urge other states to do the same. The time for thoughts and prayers is long gone – now is the time to act. The gun law will expand the background check system for potential gun buyers under the age of 21, giving authorities up to 10 business days to review youth and mental health records. It provides millions of dollars for states to fund intervention programs such as mental health and addiction courts, and enforce so-called red alert laws that allow authorities to temporarily confiscate firearms from anyone deemed too dangerous by a judge to possess.