NEW ROCHELLE – Bipartisan gun trafficking legislation aimed at cracking down on the daily flow of illegal guns on the nation’s streets took center stage on Friday as US Senator Kirsten Gillibrand held a roundtable discussion in New Rochelle with law enforcement, advocates and community leaders.
Gillibrand has introduced legislation that would, for the first time, make gun trafficking a federal crime to provide tools to law enforcement to get illegal guns off the streets, away from criminal networks and street gangs, and to prosecute those who traffic firearms.
Currently there is no federal law that defines gun trafficking as a crime. The senator’s proposed law would also crack down on bad gun dealers.
“I am not willing to throw my hands in the air and say nothing can be done while lives are being senselessly lost due to weapons being in the hands of criminals,” Gillibrand said. “We all have a moral obligation to make our voices heard and say enough is enough. The absence of any federal law defining gun trafficking as a crime in this country is shocking. Cracking down on gun trafficking and keeping illegal guns off our streets should not be a Republican or Democratic issue because it is just common sense.”
