STATEMENT BY PUBLIC ADVOCATE DE BLASIO ON TAKING HIGH-CAPACITY CLIPS FOR HANDGUNS OFF THE MARKET – January 14th
The Glock handgun used in last Saturday’s horrific shooting in Tucson, Arizona fired off 33 rounds before its owner, Jared Lee Loughner, was wrestled to the ground as he paused to reload. In that time, he wounded 13 people including Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. He killed six others, including 9-year-old Christina Green.
Until it expired in 2004, the Assault Weapons Ban stopped 33-round clips like the one used in Arizona from being manufactured and sold to civilians. Since that time, these clips have flooded the marketplace.
With Congress unlikely to act on this danger and pass legislation, we must do everything we can here in New York City to fight the rising tide of gun violence.
Yesterday, Public Advocate Bill de Blasio joined the New York Post in calling on the New York City Police Department to start buying the firearms they need from a different company until Glock agrees to stop selling 30-round magazines to consumers.
Too often we forget the potential of our enormous purchasing power to convince businesses to act more responsibly. This is an opportunity to use this asset the right way.
Click here to read today’s New York Post article on the proposal.
STATEMENT BY PUBLIC ADVOCATE DE BLASIO ON GLOCK HIGH CAPACITY GUN MAGAZINES - January 13, 2011
“This week Mayor Bloomberg has once again shown national leadership on the issue of gun control by urging new steps be taken to curb illegal gun sales. The Mayor is not alone in highlighting the need for new action on the issue of gun control in the aftermath of the Arizona tragedy. The New York Post editorial board has rightly argued that the Glock manufactured 30-round magazines, like the one used by clearly disturbed Jared Loughner, present an unacceptable risk to human life and at the same time no justifiable civilian purpose. If Glock will not stop selling these magazines to consumers, then the New York City Police Department should start buying the firearms they need from a different company.”
STATEMENT BY PUBLIC ADVOCATE DE BLASIO ON MAYOR BLOOMBERG’S CALL FOR NEW FEDERAL GUN CONTROLS - January 11, 2011
“I commend Mayor Bloomberg for speaking out today in favor of more vigorous steps to curb illegal guns, and for the leadership he has shown through the Mayors Against Illegal Guns coalition. We must heed one of the clearest lessons of Saturday’s shooting in Tucson, Arizona: there are too many guns in violent hands. It is a lesson just as urgent to us here in New York following the shooting deaths of three people yesterday in the span of just four hours. The assassination attempt on Congresswoman Giffords and the murder of six bystanders should be a rallying moment for this country to adopt more commonsense gun reforms.”
