New Bill Would Track the Use of Out-of-State Guns in NY Crimes
Friday May 25th, on Criminal Defense News | Share
New York has very strict gun laws, and there are also federal laws regarding weapons. Those who violate gun laws in New York may face harsh penalties for failing to comply with gun control regulations. A defendant who is involved with any type of crime can also usually expect to face more serious charges if a gun was involved compared with in circumstances where he is not armed. Because of the strict laws in New York, if you're accused of criminal conduct related to a gun, you should contact a New York criminal defense lawyer for help as soon as possible.
Those who are both for and against gun control have expressed concern about the fact that gun crime still occurs regularly in New York despite stringent rules on the possession of firearms. There is concern many of these guns are coming in from outside of the state and, as Newsday reports, a new bill has been proposed to track the use of out-of-state guns in crimes committed within New York.
New Bill to Track Out-of-State Guns involved in New York Crimes
According to Newsday, a state senator from Queens, Senator Michael Gianaris, has proposed a bill to create a public database tracking the origin of guns that are used to commit crimes within New York. The database would contain information on the state and country where guns originate from if those guns are subsequently used to commit criminal offenses in New York.
The proposed goal of the bill is to address the issue of the “iron pipeline.” Officials believe the “iron pipeline” is a process by which guns can be purchased in southern states with relaxed gun regulations and can be transported into New York and other northern states where the weapons are used to commit crimes.
The bill comes after the release of a 2015 report which revealed around 74 percent of all guns that were used in crimes within New York that the police were able to recover were found to have originated from outside of New York. Further, the research revealed around 86 percent of the handguns being used in crimes in New York came from other states.
Governor Andrew Cuomo threw his support behind the proposal, as it builds upon the governor's efforts to stop gun violence. In February, Cuomo had helped to create a coalition of states in the northeastern part of the country that aim to track how guns move from place to place across state lines and that aim to strengthen gun control laws on a federal level to try to combat this unlawful gun trafficking.
While the bill may pass and new restrictions could soon be in place, those who are accused of violating gun laws will still face charges under the same state or federal laws put in place before this new proposal was considered. If you are accused of a crime connected with a gun, you should talk with a New York criminal defense lawyer as soon as possible about options available to you.