New York and the United States have been facing an increase in crime since last summer. A subject which the governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo, has decided to take up. On Tuesday, July 6, he announced measures of“Emergency” to fight guns.
The Democratic governor thus decreed a kind of” emergency state “ against violence by firearms, a first in the United States, which allows it, as in the face of the pandemic, to mobilize exceptional resources.
A special coordinator for the prevention of this type of violence will be appointed: attached to the health services of the State of New York, he will have to ensure a coordinated action of many social services, the police of the State, the penitentiary services and others.
Creation of a special police unit
“If you look at the latest figures, there are more people dying from guns and crime than from Covid-19 – it is a national problem that must be faced, because our future depends on it ”Cuomo said, quoted in a statement.
Today I am issuing an Executive Order declaring a Disaster Emergency on gun violence.
Gun violence is a public hea… https://t.co/b0p56VnXCM
“As with the Covid, New York will again set an example for the rest of the country with a global approach”, said the governor, weakened by several scandals, but who was a highly respected voice on the subject of the pandemic in 2020. These measures should make it possible in particular to send data more quickly, to identify “Hot spots” and allocate resources accordingly.
New York State also plans to invest some $ 138 million (€ 117 million) in intervention and prevention programs, including $ 76 million (€ 64 million) to create jobs and activities for the youngest ” at risk “.
A special police unit to fight against the trafficking of firearms from other states will also be created. If New York is one of the American states where the laws on the possession of firearms are the strictest, it is indeed easy to go and buy weapons in the neighboring states of Pennsylvania or New Jersey, which are more lax. .
30% increase in homicides
The governor also signed two laws on Tuesday: one makes it easier to attack civilian arms manufacturers, the other prevents wanted people from being able to acquire a weapon. Manufacturers have so far been largely exempt from liability by federal law, which the new New York law will circumvent.
These measures come as New York and the United States have been facing a sharp rise in crime since last summer, with a 30% increase in homicides in the country’s major cities in 2020, presented by Republicans as the result of democratic laxity.
President Joe Biden also introduced measures to limit the flow of firearms at the federal level on June 23, but Congress is very divided and Democrats are struggling to get things done.
In contrast, the conservative states, predominantly Republican, are doing everything to expand the rights to firearms. The Republican governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, promulgated in mid-June a law allowing the carrying of a weapon in public without a license to any person 21 years of age or over not subject to a ban on possessing a handgun. fire. It must come into force on 1is September.
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