Gillibrand With NYPD, Everytown For Gun Safety & Community Advocates Unveil Bipartisan Bill To Crack Down On The Flow Of Illegal Guns Through The "Iron Pipeline" And Gang Violence -- With 3 NYPD Officers Murdered By Illegal Guns In A Span Of 4 Months This Year, Time For Congress To Act

U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) with NYPD Chief of Department James P. O'Neill, Everytown for Gun Safety, New Yorkers Against Gun Violence and Harlem Mothers Save today announced the introduction of bipartisan gun trafficking legislation aimed at cracking down on the daily flow of illegal guns on our nation's streets. Authored along with Republican Senator Mark Kirk (R-IL), the Hadiya Pendleton and Nyasia Pryear-Yard Gun Trafficking & Crime Prevention Act of 2015 would 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. Just nine weeks ago, New York Police Commissioner Bill Bratton and New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced the arrests of multiple members of an illegal gun smuggling ring under "Operation Redrum" which netted 93 guns ranging from 22 caliber pistols to assault weapons over a six-month period. The guns came from out of state and were trafficked through the Bronx. In 2013, 331 weapons recovered in New York State came from Georgia alone. According to NYPD, 90 percent of the guns used in New York City gun crimes come from out of state, including those used in the murders of Detectives Wenjian Liu, Rafael Ramos and Brian Moore. Just this week, gang violence was reportedly responsible for the shooting death of a father holding his one-year-old child.

Currently, there is no federal law that defines gun trafficking as a crime. The Hadiya Pendleton and Nyasia Pryear-Yard Gun Trafficking & Crime Prevention Act of 2015 would also crack down on bad gun dealers. A news report this week highlighted the so-called "shop of death" in Georgia where illegal weapons used to kill three police officers originated from. In 2010, the same shop was named as the top source of illegal out-of-state guns in New York City. Senator Gillibrand has been working on gun trafficking legislation since 2009, and similar bipartisan legislation she introduced received 58 votes in the United States Senate in 2013 -- just two votes shy of breaking a filibuster.

"I am proud to work with Senator Kirk who shares my commitment to cracking down on gun trafficking to keep illegal guns off our streets," said Senator Gillibrand. "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. 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. By cracking down illegal gun traffickers and their vast criminal networks, we can stop the flow of illegal guns and save innocent lives."

"The trafficking of guns have led to more than 1,300 shootings in Chicago this year," said Senator Kirk. "In honor of Hadiya Pendleton, we owe it to future generations to put an end to the gun trafficking that plays a huge role in the senseless violence that is taking lives in Chicago and throughout the country every day."

"The evidence is overwhelmingly clear that states like New York, which has some of the strongest gun laws in the nation, remain vulnerable to illegal guns imported from other states with weaker laws," said New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. "We need stronger federal penalties for gun trafficking that will empower our law enforcement officials to bring more criminals to justice. I applaud Senators Gillibrand and Kirk for introducing the Gun Trafficking Prevention Act of 2015, which will keep New Yorkers--and all Americans--safer from the scourge of illegal guns."

"The trafficking of illegal firearms into our city serves to fuel the proliferation of gun violence in our neighborhoods," said Police Commissioner William J. Bratton. "The NYPD will continue to work closely with our law enforcement partners, elected officials and the public to intercept these weapons before they are used to commit violent crimes and destroy innocent lives."

"Weak gun laws in any state endanger communities everywhere," said Ted Alcorn, Research Director of Everytown for Gun Safety. "Again and again, we see traffickers move guns across state lines that are used to injure or kill our fellow citizens and law enforcement officers. Senator Gillibrand's legislation gives prosecutors more tools to go after these traffickers -- and prevent violent gun crimes from occurring at all. It's high time for Congress to strengthen the lax gun laws that make it easy for dangerous people to get guns in one state and use them to commit crimes elsewhere."

"Once again, leaders from both parties in Congress have come together behind a commonsense proposal that would help keep guns out of the wrong hands and make our communities safer places to live," said former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and Captain Mark Kelly, the Co-Founders of Americans for Responsible Solutions. "Senators Gillibrand and Kirk should be applauded for standing up for common sense, and leading the fight to crack down on the illegal gun trade. One of the biggest, most dangerous problems with our nation's gun laws is that we have have no strong, clear federal statute against gun trafficking. This bipartisan bill will help fix that by making it harder for straw purchasers and shady gun dealers to traffic illegal guns to dangerous people - while protecting the Second Amendment rights of responsible, law-abiding gun owners."

"Without strong federal gun laws, New York will remain vulnerable to the incessant flow of illegal guns that end up killing and maiming our citizens," said Leah Gunn Barrett, Executive Director of New Yorkers Against Gun Violence. "Current federal gun trafficking laws are weak and don't deter or punish illegal trafficking. In fact, someone who traffics guns receives the same punishment as someone who traffics chickens or other livestock. Senator Gillibrand's bill would tackle firearms trafficking by going after straw purchasers, rogue gun dealers who knowingly sell firearms to traffickers and those who run trafficking rings."

"I am glad Senator Gillibrand is pushing this legislation. As a mother who lost two sons to gun violence, I personally know how important it is to reduce the number of illegal guns that are on the streets" said Jackie Rowe-Adams, founder of Harlem Mothers Save. "I urge the Senator's colleagues to pass this bill. Mother's and father's are sick and tired of burying their kids."

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