MAYOR ADAMS’ STATEMENT ON PRESIDENT BIDEN’S MARIJUANA REFORM ANNOUNCEMENT

 

New York City Mayor Eric Adams today released the following statement after President Joseph Biden’s marijuana reform announcement:

 

“For too long, underserved communities — particularly communities of color — have faced disproportionate rates of drug-related incarceration, and I applaud President Biden for taking these tremendous strides toward finally delivering equity to those disproportionately harmed by the ‘War on Drugs.’ No one should be in prison solely due to a marijuana possession conviction, and a review of the outdated federal classification of marijuana is long overdue. The actions taken by the president today get the ball rolling on righting these decades-long wrongs.”

NYC PUBLIC ADVOCATE RESPONDS TO FEDERAL JUDGE BLOCKING PARTS OF NEW YORK'S GUN SAFETY LAW

 

"This ruling comes as little surprise in a country so deeply invested in carnage capitalism that common sense gun safety laws are seen by some as a greater threat than bullets. After a conservative Supreme Court rejected New York’s basic standards of safety this summer, New York passed legislation specifically tailored to meet the Court’s ruling – but even a modest effort at saving lives is too much for the conservative movement in a country with a demonic obsession with guns.

"In light of this ruling, it is harder today to drive past Times Square than to bring a gun into it. Blocking this law clears the way for more guns to flow through the iron pipeline and onto our streets. Just over a week ago, twenty-three people were shot in our city over a three day period. Until and unless this decision is overturned, New Yorkers are less safe, and our government is failing to protect them."

BRONX MAN SENTENCED TO 21 YEARS IN PRISON FOR FATAL SHOOTING OF MAN AFTER DISPUTE

 

Defendant Pleaded Guilty to First-Degree Manslaughter

 Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark today announced that a Bronx man has been sentenced to 21 years in prison for fatally shooting a man at the entrance of an apartment building after a dispute.

 District Attorney Clark said, “The defendant initially got into a fight with a group of people. After they dispersed, he went to a building where the opposing group retreated to and opened fire. He shot the victim—who was not part of the fight—four times, killing him and putting all surrounding neighbors at risk.”   

 District Attorney Clark said the defendant, Tujuan Ford, 25, last of 654 Beck Street, was sentenced today to 21 years in prison and five years of post-release supervision by Bronx Supreme Court Justice Ralph Fabrizio. The defendant pleaded guilty to first-degree Manslaughter on September 14, 2022. 

 According to the investigation, in the early morning hours of June 30, 2019, Ford got into a fight with a group of individuals outside a food truck on Southern Boulevard and East 149th Street in the Bronx. The victim, Alberto DeJesus, 22, was present with the group but not part of the fight. After it broke up, DeJesus went to a nearby apartment building at 1044 Avenue Saint John and was shot at by Ford. DeJesus went into the lobby of the building where he collapsed. The attack was captured on surveillance video. DeJesus died at NYC Health + Hospitals Lincoln.

 District Attorney Clark thanked NYPD Detective Frankie Soler of Bronx Homicide.

Justice Department Announces Filing of Statement of Interest in "Ghost Gun" Litigation

 

 Breon Peace, the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York (EDNY), in partnership with Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York (SDNY), and Brian M. Boynton, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General, filed a Statement of Interest today in The City of New York v. Arm or Ally, LLC, to express the Justice Department’s views on the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)’s regulations concerning unfinished frame and receiver kits. 

In the lawsuit, the City of New York alleges that multiple firearm businesses have sold tens of thousands of illegal, unfinished frames and receivers to New Yorkers.  These frames and receivers, which are classified as firearms, were then converted into unserialized, untraceable handguns and assault-style weapons, known as “ghost guns.”  Ghost guns contribute to the ongoing plague of gun violence.

The Department of Justice’s Statement of Interest informs the Court that the United States has serious concerns about the proliferation of untraceable firearms easily assembled from firearm parts kits and unfinished frames and receivers.  The Statement of Interest makes clear that ATF has long held that the sale of all components necessary to produce a functional firearm are, and always have been, classified as the sale of a firearm under the Gun Control Act of 1968.  Additionally, the Statement of Interest informs the Court of ATF’s authority to promulgate a rule updating its definition of “frame or receiver” and other statutory and regulatory terms.  

Mr. Peace stated, “Ghost guns are a major contributor to the ongoing plague of gun violence.  The United States will continue to employ every means available, including civil tools, to keep ghost guns and other illegal firearms out of the hands of criminals and reduce the risk of gun violence.  The United States filed a Statement of Interest in this important litigation to ensure that the Court is informed of the federal government’s views of pertinent firearms statutes and regulations.”

Mr. Williams stated, “This Statement of Interest reflects the Department of Justice’s commitment to work with federal, state, and local law enforcement partners to combat the growing problem of ghost guns.  This Office is determined to prevent criminals from accessing untraceable firearms easily assembled from firearms parts kits and unfinished frames and receivers.”

“Ghost guns have for years helped fuel an escalating trend of firearms-related violence,” ATF Special Agent in Charge DeVito said.  “The updated federal regulations are an important step in abating that trend in our local communities.  Today’s filing sends a message that the United States will do its part, using all available means, to support our local partners in their own efforts to curb the flow of these dangerous weapons to the criminal element and violent offenders.”       

For the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, the filing of this Statement of Interest is part of EDNY’s larger Civil Initiative to Reduce Gun Violence.  The EDNY’s Civil Initiative to Reduce Gun Violence was created earlier this year in recognition of the President’s directive to take a whole-of-government approach to combat the epidemic of gun violence and ensure public safety, and complements the EDNY’s Criminal Division’s successful efforts to reduce the scourge of gun-related crimes.  The EDNY’s Civil Initiative to Reduce Gun Violence aims to collaborate with federal, state, and local officials, as well as community stakeholders, to address the root causes of gun-related crime, and supports reform efforts made across the government.  In July 2021, the United States Attorney’s Offices for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York also joined a cross-jurisdictional strike force to help reduce gun violence by disrupting illegal firearms trafficking in key regions across the country. 

Statement from Governor Hochul on Concealed Carry Improvement Act

 

"In the wake of the Supreme Court's reckless decision that reversed decades of established law amid a national gun violence crisis, the State Legislature and I acted decisively to keep New Yorkers safe. The Concealed Carry Improvement Act was carefully crafted to put in place common-sense restrictions around concealed carry permits.

"While this decision leaves aspects of the law in place, it is deeply disappointing that the Judge wants to limit my ability to keep New Yorkers safe and to prevent more senseless gun violence. We are working with the Attorney General's office to review the decision carefully and discuss next steps in an appeal. I will continue to do everything in my power to combat the gun violence epidemic and protect New Yorkers."

Tour De Bronx is back this year!

 

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SENATOR GUSTAVO RIVERA ON THE 5TH CIRCUIT'S DECISION ON DACA

“The 5th circuit decision on DACA is abhorrent. Dreamers deserve peace of mind about their futures in the country we call home. This is a nation of immigrants and our laws must reflect that. Congress must urgently pass legislation to create a pathway to citizenship and to ensure permanent status. No one deserves to have their lives thrown into chaos.”

WILLIAMS' STATEMENT ON PRESIDENT BIDEN PARDONING PAST FEDERAL MARIJUANA POSSESSION CONVICTIONS

 

"With this overdue action, thousands of Americans who saw their lives and livelihoods destroyed by a cannabis conviction are granted new, budding opportunity.

"This is a vital, welcome first step from the Biden administration, but it is a first step. We should move quickly to legalize cannabis nationwide, and prioritize reinvesting in the Black and Brown communities most devastated by its prohibition and unequal enforcement. Pardons are a critical solution in this moment, but as we have seen, full legalization is the only way to combat the massive disparities in enforcement that have burdened generations with criminal records and ensnared them in an unjust system.

"I’m proud of the work we’ve done to decriminalize, de-stigmatize, and ultimately legalize marijuana in New York, and further urge our state to be spurred by this new federal action to more quickly implement a just economy for legal marijuana sales."