New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman says a new report shows New York is taking an important step in combatting gun violence.
Schneiderman’s office analyzed data from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and found that of 52,000 guns used to commit crimes in New York, three-quarters of them were first purchased out-of-state, a rate more than double the national average.
“The message is that New York’s laws, which require permits for handguns, are working. The bad guys aren’t even trying to buy guns in New York. They know they have to get them from gun traffickers or travel to other states with weaker gun laws,” said Schneiderman.
The Attorney General identified Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, and Ohio as the states most frequently linked to guns used in crimes committed in New York.
A smaller portion came from neighboring Massachusetts and Connecticut, states with relatively strict gun laws.
