NYSBA Task Force on Mass Shootings and Assault Weapons to Propose
Policy Solutions
New
York State Bar Association (NYSBA) President Hank Greenberg issued the
following statement in response to the two mass shootings this past weekend
that tragically ended the lives of 31 people and injured dozens more.
“The New York State Bar Association recoils in horror, as
all Americans do, at the mass shootings this past weekend in Dayton, Ohio, and
El Paso, Texas. Our hearts break for the victims and their families. The
senseless loss and suffering must not be in vain. Policymakers must act to
avert similar massacres from occurring in the future.
“We are in
the midst of a mass shooting epidemic in America that has left more than 520
people dead and at least 2,000 injured, according to the Gun Violence Archive.
There have been 251 mass shootings in this country during 2019 alone.
“In an effort to find solutions
that stop this tragic bloodshed, NYSBA’s Task Force on Mass Shootings and
Assault Weapons is preparing a report that aims to recommend statutory and
regulatory reforms while still protecting an individual’s right to lawfully
possess firearms. That report is expected to be presented to NYSBA’s House of
Delegates in the coming months.”
This
is not the first time NYSBA has studied the issue of gun violence. A Task Force
on Gun Violence, formed in 2013, focused on public education about gun laws and
the Second Amendment, as well as supporting federal efforts to collect and
share data on gun violence, which had been stymied by Congressional actions.
The 2015
report from the task
force addressed the absence of gun violence data, including why that
information is missing, as well as other issues and proposed corrective actions
to enable lawmakers and policymakers to make informed judgments about gun
regulations.
Since that report was issued, NYSBA has worked to reverse
restrictions on the collection of gun violence data. In 2015, NYSBA declared
its support for greater data collection on gun violence and issued a memorandum
in support of the repeal of the Dickey Amendment, which in effect, forced the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to stop its research into firearm
violence.
About the New York State Bar Association
The
New York State Bar Association is the largest voluntary state bar association
in the nation. Since 1876, NYSBA has helped shape the development of law,
educated and informed the legal profession and the public, and championed the
rights of New Yorkers through advocacy and guidance in our communities.
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Contact: Christian Nolan
[email protected]
518/487-5536
