Independent Democratic Conference Leader Jeff Klein on Wednesday announced a bill that is aimed at cracking down on those who traffic illegal guns into New York.
The bill comes after the Manhattan district attorney, Cy Vance, and NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton announced the indictment of a half dozen gun traffickers who were selling 82 pitols, assault weapons and shotguns in New York City.
Under current law, firearms traffickers are charged with a class B felony. Klein’s bill would create a new class A-1 felony elevating existing penalties for gun trafficknig.
The proposal was first reported today by The Daily News.
“These necessary protections will ensure that major firearms traffickers, who put all New Yorkers at risk, will face up to a lifetime in prison,” Klein said. “We must be vigilant against the trafficking of illegal firearms throughout our state, and this legislation will do just that.”
The bill would classify those who sell or plan to sell at least 20 firearms as those “operating as a major firearms trafficker” with a minimum sentence of 15-years-to-life. A maximum penalty would be set at 25 years in prison.
The measure was endorsed by Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.
“In the last two years, my Organized Crime Task Force has seized over 300 firearms from gun traffickers, many of whom would have faced the tougher penalties proposed by this legislation,” Schneiderman said. “With this bill, those who believe New York is an attractive market for wholesale illegal gun distribution will be forced to think again.”