Gillibrand Announces 3,000 Illegal Guns Off Our Streets – A Direct Result Of Her Anti-Gun Trafficking Provision In The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act

Gillibrand Announces 3,000 Illegal Guns Off Our Streets - A Direct Result Of Her Anti-Gun Trafficking Provision In The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act

Sep 18, 2024

In Just Over Two Years, Gillibrand's Statute Has Allowed Law Enforcement To Seize More Than 3K Guns Nationwide And 250 In New York

Today, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand held a video press conference to announce a major new milestone in the seizure of illegal guns under the anti-gun trafficking statute in the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which was shaped by Gillibrand's Hadiya Pendleton and Nyasia Pryear-Yard Gun Trafficking and Crime Prevention Act. As of this month, the anti-gun trafficking statute has gotten more than 3,000 illegal guns off our streets, including 1,000 confirmed within the last 6 months alone.

The seized weapons included:

• 317 AR-15s and AR-style weapons;
• 478 machine gun conversion devices, which can convert semi-automatic pistols and rifles into fully automatic weapons in under a minute;
• 206 ghost guns, homemade firearms that are completely untraceable - and a favorite of criminals.

The statute has also been used to charge 423 defendants in 33 states, plus D.C. and Puerto Rico, and to secure at least 118 convictions nationwide.

"While we still have a lot of work to do to fight the scourge of gun violence, we've made incredible progress prosecuting criminals and getting dangerous and deadly weapons off our streets in the two years my anti-gun trafficking statute has been in effect," said Senator Gillibrand. "I anticipate many more gun seizures, arrests, and convictions as a result of this statute in the years to come, and I will continue to work with my colleagues across the aisle to pass commonsense gun safety legislation."

Senator Gillibrand's Hadiya Pendleton and Nyasia Pryear-Yard Gun Trafficking and Crime Prevention Act formed the centerpiece of BSCA's anti-gun trafficking provision. Gillibrand first introduced the bill in 2009 after meeting with the family of Nyasia Pryear-Yard, who tragically lost her life at 17 years old when she was shot by a perpetrator using an illegally trafficked gun. Gillibrand worked with Nyasia's mother, Jennifer Pryear, to pass the bill into law, and they attended the bill signing together in 2022.