On Sunday, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) pushed for the federal government to allocate $1.5 billion to fund new gun control actions by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF).
The New York Post reported that Schumer wants to use the funds to get the ATF behind the Interstate Task Force on Illegal Guns. The task force is ubiquitously aimed at getting illegal guns off the streets of New York.
Schumer commented his desire to get the ATF involved in the task force, saying, “The ABCs of beating back the scourge of gun violence depends on three federal letters: A, T, and F.”
He added, “I am pushing for $1.5 billion dollars in federal funds for the agency, so they can help with this work and do much more at the national level … Without the $1.5 billion … these plans will not have their full impact, and we need full impact to address the flow of these crime guns in our communities and across our state.”
Schumer’s $1.5 billion gun control push comes after NYPD officer Jason Rivera was shot and killed on January 21, 2022, and NYPD officer Wilbert Mora was shot and fatally wounded in the same attack. FOX News observed that the shooting suspect in the attack was “on probation for a 2003 felony narcotics conviction in New York City.”
New York has some of the most stringent gun controls in the nation, including a gun control that bars felons from possessing firearms.
AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio and a Turning Point USA Ambassador. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. Reach him at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange.