Protecting our most valuable resource — children — is any society’s most sacred duty, but it is a mission that we too often fail to accomplish. And that failure, whether it is in a supermarket parking lot in Tucson, Ariz., or a classroom in Newtown, Conn., is a continuing tragedy that should offend us all and shame us into immediate action.
For too long, we have sat aside and done nothing.
That is, until now. With the passage of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s NY-SAFE Act, New Yorkers today have in place the toughest gun control legislation in the country that will help keep the most dangerous weapons and high-capacity magazines off our streets, away from our shopping centers and out of our schools.
But the scourge of gun violence does not end at our state’s borders.
That is why I introduced a resolution, passed by my City Council colleagues, that calls on other states to follow New York’s path toward sensible, common sense gun legislation. I thank Council Speaker Christine Quinn (D-Manhattan) for co-sponsoring this resolution and her leadership in moving this resolution through the Council.
While I stand with President Barack Obama’s call for an up-or-down vote on responsible federal legislation, we cannot afford to wait for the Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives to act to get weapons of war and high-capacity ammunition magazines off streets.
We in New York City have an interest in seeing our tough gun laws mirrored in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and beyond.
Polls have shown that a majority of Americans are on our side, and though the gun lobby is strong, we are stronger.
New York has cast its lot with protecting our kids. Now it is time for the rest of the nation to act.
James Gennaro
City Councilman
(D-Fresh Meadows)
