New York Governor Andrew Cuomo declared gun violence in his state a disaster emergency during a news conference on Tuesday.
To fight the issue, Cuomo issued an executive order that he said will provide necessary resources to curb what he called a public health crisis. He also compared gun violence to COVID-19.
“We went from one epidemic to another,” he said. “We went from COVID to the epidemic of gun violence and the fear, and the death, that goes along with it. It’s so bad when you look at the recent numbers, more people are dying of gun violence than of COVID.”
Cuomo touted his plan on Twitter as well and wrote that “gun violence is a public health crisis, and we must treat it as one.”
Today I am issuing an Executive Order declaring a Disaster Emergency on gun violence.
Gun violence is a public health crisis, and we must treat it like one.
This declaration will allow us to give this crisis the full attention & resources it deserves.
— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) July 6, 2021
During the press conference, Cuomo detailed the immediate actions he will implement statewide to help stem gun violence. He identified seven key areas:
- Treat gun violence like the emergency public health issue it is.
- Target hotspots with data and science.
- Positive engagement for at-risk youth.
- Break the cycle of escalating violence.
- Get illegal guns off the streets.
- Keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people.
- Rebuild the police community relationship.
The governor talked of immediate steps, as well as future strategies.
“Our strategy is two-pronged. Long term, the solution is compressive, community-based prevention strategy so young people don’t get into this situation in the first place. They don’t arrive in a place of crisis. You don’t have the same level of violence and the same level of antagonism, and that’s from community-based services—that’s prevention, community development, housing, health care, and economic activity.
“But today, let’s focus on the short term because people are dying every day out there,” he continued. “You know what the problem is—it’s a statewide problem and it is an emergency, and I want the people in this state to understand that. So today, New York is the first state in the nation to declare a disaster emergency on gun violence.”
“So what does this do?” Cuomo added. “This executive order, it says to everyone in the state, ‘I want you to understand the extent of the problem. I want you to understand how serious this is.’ It then also allows us to move even faster, and free up money and free up programs so we can get it on the street and we can get it on the street now.”
The executive order will require large police departments to submit “incident-level data” on shootings in their jurisdictions to help identify hotspots of gun-related crimes. A Governor’s Council on Gun Violence Reduction will also be started to promote coordination between state and local governments and community groups responding to gun violence.
Cuomo also announced on Twitter that the state police is forming a new Gun Trafficking Interdiction Unit to target illegal guns coming into New York from other states. Additionally, he said he is signing legislation to reinstate public nuisance liability for gun manufacturers in New York state.
“The gun industry is the only industry in America with immunity from civil lawsuits. It’s an insult to victims of gun violence,” he tweeted.
The gun industry is the only industry in America with immunity from civil lawsuits.
It’s an insult to victims of gun violence.
Today I’m signing legislation to reinstate public nuisance liability for gun manufacturers in NYS.
I thank sponsors @SenatorMyrie & @PatriciaFahy109.
— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) July 6, 2021
“We need to restore the relationship between the community and the police,” Cuomo said during the news conference. “That is clear—it is time to do it.”
Mary Altaffer-Pool/Getty Images
