Brooklyn Congresswoman Yvette Clark and Congressman Hakeem Jeffries circled their wagons together today on the steps of City Hall to demand federal action amidst the outbreak of gun violence in Brooklyn, including the shooting of Carey Gabay, counsel to Governor Cuomo.
The representatives are seeking help from the Obama administration to combat gun violence across New York City. The key piece of their proposal is increased funding for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). This federal agency is responsible for enforcing gun laws and monitoring illegal gun trafficking.
The upcoming fiscal year begins on October 1. Representatives Clarke and Jeffries urged President Obama to put pressure on Congress to fully fund the ATF. The representatives wrote a letter to the President this Friday, asking not only for the ATF to be fully funded but for an additional $60 million to be set aside for the agency.
“House Republicans want a fake fight over defunding Planned Parenthood. We’re going to give them a real fight with respect to fully funding our nation’s gun violence prevention efforts,” said Jeffries, a member of the House Judiciary Committee.
Clarke called for action, saying, “We cannot allow the public health crisis of gun violence to continue. Every year, the United States has more than 30,000 preventable deaths as a result of guns, deaths that real limits on the trafficking of illegal guns would substantially reduce. Therefore, Congressman Jeffries and I have asked President Obama to request additional resources for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives that would allow the agency to expand enforcement of existing laws that are intended to keep illegal guns away from our communities.”
Representatives Clarke and Jeffries are also pushing to bring President Obama’s My Brother’s Keeper initiative to Brooklyn. The program provides young men of color with mentoring and a support network within their communities.
“Our country cannot continue down the path of careening from one tragic incident of gun violence to another, while Congress turns a blind eye to the problem. It is time we draw a line in the sand. We can begin by demanding that Congress fully fund the ATF,” concludes the letter.
