The Gun Violence Epidemic
Each year in the U.S., over 33,000 Americans are killed by gun violence – suicides, homicides and unintentional shootings–and more than 84,000 are injured. Over the past 50 years, more than 1.4 million Americans have been killed and 3.5 million have been injured by firearms. In fact, more Americans have died from firearms on our soil than in all the wars in this country's history.
Felons, domestic abusers and the seriously mentally ill continue to have easy access to firearms and ammunition due to weak federal gun safety laws.
With a primary focus on New York State and its residents, NYAGV advocates at all levels of government for laws, policies and practices that protect New Yorkers from gun violence. Below are the sensible gun safety measures NYAGV is fighting for.
Also see the NYAGV Resources page for gun violence facts, figures, trends and research reports.
Federal: Federally Mandated Concealed Carry
PROBLEM: Both houses of Congress are considering a dangerous legislation, federally mandated Concealed Carry Reciprocity (H.R.38/ S.446), which would require New York and other strong gun law states to recognize the concealed carry permits of gun owners from all other states–no matter how weak their gun laws. Read More
NY: Safe Storage/Child Access Prevention
PROBLEM: Researchers have found that millions of children live in homes with easily accessible guns. The presence of unlocked guns in the home increases the risk of accidental gun injuries, intentional shootings and suicides. New York State currently has no law specifically penalizing a person who enables a child to access a firearm. SOLUTION: New York... Read More
NY: Guns and Domestic Violence
PROBLEM: Access to guns is a key factor in domestic violence homicides. From 2001 through 2012, 6,410 women were murdered in the United States by an intimate partner using a gun. The presence of a gun in domestic violence situations increases the risk of homicide for women by 500%. While New York has restrictions on access to... Read More
NY: Gun Trafficking
PROBLEM: Illegal firearms continue to flood New York neighborhoods. These guns often originate in states with weak gun laws that allow individuals to purchase guns in large quantities and traffic them into our state. Dishonest gun dealers—both outside and within New York State—are also major sources of illegal guns. Recent data from the Bureau of... Read More
NY: Microstamping to Help Law Enforcement Solve Gun Crimes
THE PROBLEM: Gun crimes provide criminals with the safety of distance and often result in fewer witnesses and less crime scene evidence than other types of crimes. The deadly threat of gun crimes also frequently instills fear of retaliation in witnesses and discourages them from coming forward. Homicides using weapons have a national clearance rate... Read More
Federal: Expanding Background Checks
PROBLEM: A loophole in federal law enables dangerous individuals to avoid background checks by purchasing firearms from private sellers at gun shows and on internet gun sites that are not required to perform background checks on buyers. In addition, due to lax enforcement in some states, millions of records of mentally ill and violent offenders... Read More
Federal: Strengthen Gun Trafficking Laws and Enforcement
PROBLEM: Each year thousands of guns purchased legally make their way into the hands of criminals through straw purchasers* and corrupt dealers. Insufficient federal enforcement enables corrupt dealers to stay in business. The U.S. Senate voted down an amendment to strengthen gun trafficking laws in April 2013. SOLUTION: Strengthen enforcement against gun dealers who skirt... Read More
