Senator Gillibrand Introduces Bipartisan Bill to Crack Down on the Flow of Illegal Guns to New York State Through the "Iron Pipeline" and Prevent Gun Violence

U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand today introduced 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 and 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. According to the most recent data from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF), 8,539 firearms were recovered and traced in New York State in 2013. Of those, nearly 70 percent came from out of state. In 2013, 331 weapons recovered in New York State came from Georgia alone. However, 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 establishes gun trafficking as a federal crime and also cracks down on bad gun dealers. 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.

"Month after month, year after year, illegal guns tear apart communities across New York and our country and yet there is not a single federal law defining gun trafficking as a crime -- enough is enough," said Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. "Senator Kirk and I are introducing this bipartisan legislation to crack down on the flow of illegal guns and to give law enforcement the tools to prosecute 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."

"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."

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