Gillibrand Statement On New York’s First Prosecutions Under Federal Anti-Gun Trafficking Law

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand today applauded the charging of four gun traffickers in New York under the new federal anti-gun trafficking provisions that passed as part of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. Gillibrand authored the anti-gun trafficking provisions in 2009 and worked for more than a decade to pass them into law.

“In 2009, I wrote a bill to make trafficking in firearms a federal crime and to establish penalties for those who knowingly ship, transport or transfer firearms across state lines to an individual not legally allowed to possess a gun,” said Senator Gillibrand. “Today, these charges demonstrate that more than a decade of work has come to fruition. In New York State, nearly 75% of guns connected to crime are trafficked from out of state, and these prosecutions show that we have given law enforcement a major tool to stop the flow of illegal guns into New York. I am grateful to the law enforcement officials for their work applying this law and I am externally grateful to all of the gun safety advocates who fought so hard to make this law a reality.”

In 2009, Senator Gillibrand introduced what would ultimately be called the Hadiya Pendleton and Nyasia Pryear-Yard Gun Trafficking and Crime Prevention Act after meeting with Nyasia’s parents and classmates in the aftermath of her tragic death from a stray bullet in Brooklyn.

The bill passed as part of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act last year. The bill made trafficking in firearms a federal crime and established penalties for those who knowingly ship, transport or transfer firearms across state lines to an individual not legally allowed to possess a gun.

The bill also enables law enforcement to go after individuals who act as organizers of gun trafficking operations and those who sell or deal trafficked firearms.

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