New Yorkers Against Gun Violence
Working to Reduce Gun Violence Since 1993
to Shut down Iron Pipeline Flooding NY with Illegal Guns
(New York, NY) Earlier today, advocates from New York and New Jersey walked over a portion of the George Washington Bridge and held a press conference decrying the flood of illegal guns that continue to travel up
I-95 aka “The Iron Pipeline”, wreaking havoc in communities throughout New York City and New York State.
Andy Pelosi, executive director of New York Against Gun Violence (NYAGV), one of the event’s co-sponsors said, “90% of New York City’s crime guns originate from out of state – states with lax gun laws. Because New York’s gun purchase laws make it very difficult for traffickers to acquire multiple guns easily, which are needed to build their lethal businesses, traffickers obtain guns in other states, like Georgia, South Carolina, Virginia and Pennsylvania.”
The Iron Pipeline serves as a major conduit for illegal guns flowing from southern states to northeastern states like New Jersey, New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts. Felons and other prohibited possessors of guns in New York State and City normally acquire their weapons in street purchases from illegal gun sellers, known as traffickers. Just this week, a married couple from Chesapeake, VA was charged in Federal District Court in Manhattan with running guns for years from Virginia for street sale in New York City.
Wallace Hasan, Chairman of the Bronx-based Patterson Volunteer Committee, said, “Quite frankly, the government needs to place the same stringent security on our state borders as it does with our borders with Canada and Mexico. In addition, the Governors of the southern states that are supplying guns to northern cities need to collaborate to stop this Dodge City madness.”
Bryan Miller, Executive Director of Ceasefire NJ, the Garden State’s leading gun violence prevention organization, said: “My brother, FBI Special Agent Mike Miller, was one of three law enforcement officers killed a decade ago in a massacre at Washington, DC Police Headquarters by a man wielding an assault pistol trafficked illegally from Texas. As long as some states maintain weak gun laws that allow traffickers to acquire arsenals and move them to states with good gun laws, like New York and New Jersey, hundreds of people will die needlessly each year from gunfire. This is unconscionable.”
Jackie Kuhls, NYAGV Director of Public Policy noted, "The federal government has completely abdicated its responsibility with regard to sensible gun laws that would reduce the plague of illegal guns currently afflicting all states. The current system is a boon to traffickers and defies common sense. It is past time for the American people to demand that President Bush and Congress stop serving as stewards of the gun industry.”
Pelosi continued, “Just the other day, President Bush signed legislation that would make the most lethal and unregulated of American industries the most protected, by taking away citizens’ rights to seek redress from gun makers, irresponsible distributors and dealers whose guns flow freely to the illegal market that fuels crime. It is well documented that 57% of guns traced from gun crimes were originally sold by less than 2% of federally licensed firearm dealers. Now those dealers and gun makers have immunity from any responsibility for their actions. What incentives do they have to clean up their acts if they have immunity? Especially in an industry that already has no product regulation? No other industry enjoys or has ever enjoyed such blanket immunity.”
Kuhls closed, "Guns must be regulated at least as well as any other consumer product. Law enforcement should be properly funded and given the discretion to prosecute rogue gun dealers. It's time for President Bush to show he cares about all Americans, not just those who make and sell guns."
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