Photo Courtesy of Sen. Schumer’s Office
Sen. Schumer said that DOJ “must also expand their footprint with this strike force plan to include states and regions that feed the gun problem in New York.”
By Forum Staff
With a Justice Department “strike force” on the way to New York within 30 days to address the flow of illegal guns and reduce violent crime, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on Sunday demanded the Department of Justice and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives go far beyond the five cities touted in the announcement—New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington, DC—to target and disrupt specific eastern seaboard operations favored by gun traffickers.
Schumer formally called on the DOJ to expand the incoming strike force’s footprint to include geographical and strategical tactics in states like Virginia, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida and others that feed NYC and Long Island’s illegal gun supply.
“The DOJ is to be commended for its good work and effort to address illegal guns here in New York and the other four cities,” Schumer said. “But the DOJ must also expand their footprint with this strike force plan to include states and regions that feed the gun problem in New York. Gun traffickers in Eastern seaboard states like Virginia, South Carolina and Georgia are exporting hundreds of illegal guns to New York every year, and it has to stop—because those out-of-state guns are used on our streets in violent crimes. With the right strategy, the right federal pressure on export states and my personal commitment to provide ATF with much needed funding, the feds can burst the iron pipeline plaguing New York in a lasting way, and that is what we want.”
Schumer said this incoming strike force must focus on export states long documented to feed the flow of illegal guns to New York if this plan is going to fully work. Schumer said the latest ATF stats show that hundreds of guns flowing into New York are via states where the gun laws are weak, and that a special focus must be put on ensuring that those states follow reporting requirements, data collection and other reasonable efforts, like background checks, that could burst the illegal gun pipeline and reduce violent crime. Schumer also announced his support for increased ATF dollars, should the agency determine it needs them to make this new strike force effort succeed.
According to the most recent ATF data, in 2019, New York reported that at least 474 crime guns originated in Virginia; 420 originated in South Carolina and another 550 crime guns originated in Georgia. Schumer, today, said that any national strike force, to be effective, must use this data as a guidepost as it works with local U.S. Attorney offices and state and local law enforcement officials across jurisdictions. Schumer said that in order to burst the trafficking pipeline, there will need to be severe and sustained disruption to their supply chain, as well as federal pressure to hold export states accountable for lackluster reporting, data collection and other reasonable safety efforts.
