NYC Officials Pen Letter to NRA For Gun Offender Registry Support

Photo c/o Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. office

Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. and Bronx Councilmembers Vanessa Gibson (Dist. 16), Ritchie Torres (Dist. 15), and Andrew Cohen (Dist. 11) have signed a letter to the National Rifle Association (NRA). In the letter addressed to the Executive Vice President and CEO of the NRA, Wayne LaPierre, elected officials are asking for support on legislation which would form a public registry of felony gun offenders in New York City.

Like other public registries, it will be available to the public online and allow users to search through a database of registered gun offenders. The registry will list the offenders name, where they live, a physical description, the convicted crime, and the sentence issued to the offender. Gun offenders are mandated to be on the registry for four years.

“A safer New York State, and a safer nation, demands that we shine a light on those individuals who would commit gun crimes in our neighborhoods. An easily-accessible gun crime registry will serve as an excellent tool not only to keep neighborhoods informed about crime, but to serve as a deterrent from such acts.” Borough President Diaz Jr. said in the press conference on August 21st.

The letter states:

Dear Mr. LaPierre:

We write to request your support on an important piece of legislation.

Last week, we joined together to introduce new legislation in New York City creating a gun
crime offender registry. This new registry would provide the general public with information
regarding felony gun offenders in their communities, information we believe is vital to keeping
our neighborhoods safe.

We write collectively to ask that your organization stand with us and support this legislation,
joining our non-partisan effort to alert communities to felony gun offenders in their area while
also increasing the stigma associated with illegal firearm use.

Since this legislation deals only with criminals, and since our focus is solely on illegal guns and
their illegal use, we would hope that you would join us in this effort. Given your organization’s
stated position as both “America’s foremost defender of Second Amendment rights” and the
“premier firearms education organization in the world,” we feel certain that support of a public
registry highlighting felony gun offenders fits well within your mission.

A copy of this legislation, as well as copies of relevant media coverage, is attached. We look
forward to your support of this vital legislation, and we hope you will join us in taking a strong
stand against criminality and illegal gun use.

Councilmembers Costa Constantinides (Dist. 22), Paul A. Vallone (Dist. 19), and Helen Rosenthal (Dist. 6) also added their signatures. A copy of the letter can be found here.