New York State has increased its efforts to get illegal guns off the streets and out of the hands of potential criminals. At the second meeting of the Intra-State Gun Tracing Consortium at the New York State Intelligence Center in East Greenbush, Governor Kathy Hochul provided an update on how many guns have been taken off the streets. Since January, thousands of illegal guns have been seized, including 'ghost guns,' which according to the Brady Untied organization are preferred by those with criminal motives, since they are virtually untraceable,

Ghost guns are unserialized and untraceable firearms that can be bought online and assembled at home. They are often sold through "ghost gun kits," which include all of the parts and often the equipment necessary to build these weapons at home. These kits are widely available and can be purchased by anyone, including prohibited purchasers, domestic abusers, and gun traffickers — without a background check.

 

Bloomberg Announces Largest Seizure Of Guns In NYC HIstory
Getty Images
loading...

Police in New York State have seized 250 ghost guns

State police have increased their illegal gun seizures by 60 percent each month since January 2022, which is when the Interstate Task Force on Illegal Guns was created.

JANFEBMARAPRMAY 
TOTAL (YTD)
NYSP Firearms Seized729615710682513
NON-NYC Firearms Seized2693673273951851,543
NYC Firearms Seized4363724723722531,905
Total NYS Firearms Seized7778359568735403,961

Gov. Hochul's office says she is working on two new pieces of gun legislation,

The first would set forth a process to require semiautomatic pistols manufactured or delivered to licensed dealers in New York to be microstamping-enabled. The second piece of legislation would strengthen gun reporting protocols by requiring all law enforcement agencies to report the recovery of any crime gun within 24 hours of their discovery.

Get our free mobile app

243 Deaths And Injuries Were Caused By Active Shooters In 2021

9 New York State Counties That Made Most Money From Seized Assets

11 New York Cities With The Most Violent Gun Crimes

Gallery Credit: Yasmin Young

New York's Most Dangerous Dog Breeds

Gallery Credit: Yasmin Young

More From The New 96.1 WTSS