Politics & Government

Councilwoman James Calls for Tighter Gun Regulations

"[T]he time has come to engage in a serious dialogue on gun control both on a local and national level," she said.

 

In the wake of the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., Councilwoman Letitia James, D-Fort Greene, urged the New York State Legislature to tighten firearm regulations.

“In the wake of the tragic school shooting that took place at Connecticut’s Sandy Hook Elementary School, claiming the lives of 27 innocents, the time has come to engage in a serious dialogue on gun control both on a local and national level," she said.

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She commended Mayor Michael Bloomberg and other leaders who have called on President Obama "to take bold action on gun control."

Mayor Bloomberg, founder of “Mayors Against Illegal Guns” recently called on the President to re-introduce the assault-weapons ban bill, and order the Department of Justice to aggressively pursue those who lie on weapons background check forms.

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James echoed Mayor Bloomberg, saying she further urges "the New York State Legislature to tighten restrictions on assault weapons, and pass legislation requiring gun manufacturers to use bullet microstamping technology."

"This technology inscribes a gun’s make and model numbers on the firing pin, imprinting those numbers on the shell casings," she continued. "This would allow shell casings picked up at crime scenes to be tracked to the gun that fired it. The utilization of this technology would offer the NYPD a new tool in fighting gun crime."

James recognized the work the NYPD has done to seize and remove illegal guns off the streets of New York, but noted that it is important for the NYPD to reevaluate selling weapons' materials, such as shell casings, to other states and municipalities with more relaxed gun laws. 

"In 2012, New York City sold more than 28,000 pounds of the NYPD’s spent gun shell casings to a Georgia ammunition store," she said. "As per the laws in the state of Georgia, no identification or registration is required to purchase these materials. This is a practice that needs to be re-evaluated if New York is to continue to be seen as one of the most regulated gun-control states in the nation."


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