BY DONATHAN SALKALN, CRDC | “My son was on school break in Paris during the attacks,” began NY State Assemblymember Keith Wright at a public “Forum on Firearms,” sponsored by Chelsea Reform Democratic Club (CRDC) and the Village Independent Democrats (VID) on Wed., Mar. 9.
“I get a call from him. I didn’t even know about the attacks yet,” Wright explained. “My son tells me he gets out of the subway and hears bullets firing and he smells the gunpowder. I asked him how did he get out of it. He says, ‘Dad, I’m from Harlem, so I know how to get out of the way from bullets.’ ”
Wright called the conversation “a sad indictment on our society,” shaking his head in remorse, or perhaps in remembrance of all the mothers in his district that have gotten phone calls telling them of sons being shot. Wright said, “Gun violence is glorified by our society. There is a disregard for human life.”
The frustration of spinning wheels against the NRA’s blockade of sensible gun reform in Congress and the New York State Senate was echoed by all the speakers at Chelsea’s Fulton Center Auditorium (119 Ninth Ave., btw. W. 17th & W. 18th Sts.).
Richard Aborn, instrumental in the country’s passage of the Brady Bill (1994) and the current president of Citizens Crime Commission of NYC, declared, “We won before and we can win again. It takes a lot of grassroots work. It is a stain that is unique to our country, but a stain that we can remove!”
Wright and Leah Gunn Barrett (Executive Director, New Yorkers Against Gun Violence) compared gun deaths to a national health crisis. They referred to statistics. Firearms fatalities have risen from 31,672 in 2010 to 33,636 (a 2013 stat, it nearly eclipses the 33,782 auto deaths from that same year). “Like we regulated the auto industry in requiring manufacturing of safer autos, strict driving and seat belt laws, and driver’s education, we need put more gun regulation in place,” said Barrett.
New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer added, “Why the gun manufacturers have not developed a ‘smart gun’ is just a continuing saga of the NRA dictating gun policy in our country.”
As moderated by Joel Vatsky of CRDC’s Executive Committee, and Nadine Hoffman, VID’s President, the forum presented attendees with a fully loaded chamber of gun reform initiatives, including:
PROJECT FAST TRACK: Announced in January and championed by Richard Aborn, Mayor Bill de Blasio and NYPD Commissioner William Bratton, Fast Track is a working alliance that coordinates police, prosecutors and the judicial branch to catch gun criminals, swiftly sentence them, and keep them off the streets. Said Aborn, “New York has the toughest gun laws in the country, but the lax laws in other states allow a steady flow of illegal guns into our city.”
SMART GUNS THROUGH PROCUREMENT: Other than the US Department of Defense, the NYPD is the country’s largest purchaser of weapons. Stringer wants to leverage the city’s buying power to demand gun manufacturers to create a smart gun. “If a gun is stolen from a police officer, and that police officer has a fingerprint lock, that gun could not be used against that officer or someone else,” said Stringer. “We can change the market for smart guns, not just for police, but for everyone.”
FIREARMS SAFE STORAGE ACT: Although the Republican-controlled NYS Senate failed to pass a law to require locking up firearms when not in use, New Yorkers Against Gun Violence has helped get it passed at the local level. Said Barrett, “New York City, Rochester, Buffalo, Westchester County, and, most recently, Albany have mandated that gun owners lock up their guns so a child will not shoot another child, or a child won’t bring a gun to school, so a teenager will not commit suicide, or a gun is not stolen.” Barrett’s organization is currently targeting Nassau County to enact safe storage, with its open NYS Senate seat vacated by Dean Skelos.
MICROSTAMPING OF BULLETS: This is a ready-to-go technology where the gun’s firing pin punches an etch of information onto the bullet’s shell. “Police collecting shells at a scene will have an access to a gun’s registered owner, resulting in invaluable evidence in court,” said Wright. The law has passed in the State Assembly, and Wright is working to have it pass in the State Senate. Remington Arms Company is threatening to leave New York if it is passed.
NATIONAL GUN VIOLENCE AWARENESS MONTH: “We are the only state that has a Gun Violence Awareness Month,” Wright declared, as the writer of the original resolution. “I’m working with Congressman Rangel and Congressman Jeffries in introducing it to Congress. It will spark national events and discussion.”
