Glen Cove, NY: The following statement was issued by Assemblymember Charles Lavine in response to the U.S. surgeon general’s declaration of gun violence as a public health crisis:
I could not agree more with this action which comes as we near the end of a month in which we’re supposed to raise awareness about gun violence. The reality, of course, is that we need no such reminders. All one needs to do is read, watch, or listen to any form of news and it won’t be long before we’re made aware of some senseless tragedy involving guns.
Mass shootings in schools like the tragedies at Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut, Robb Elementary, in Uvalde, TX, and Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL, grab headlines, but each and every day the lives of ordinary Americans are forever changed (and ended) resulting from someone pulling the trigger.
The numbers are astonishing – on average, approximately 76,000 shot and wounded every year with more than 48,000 killed from gun injuries in 2022 alone.
The advisory issued by Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy calls on the U.S. to ban assault weapons and large-capacity magazines for civilian use, introduce universal background checks for purchasing guns, regulate the industry, and pass laws that would restrict their use in public spaces and penalize people who fail to safely store their weapons.
Here in New York State, we are doing just that. Despite fierce opposition from NRA apologists who think any legislation concerning guns is bad legislation, the Democratic Majority, working with our colleagues in the Senate and Governor Hochul, have consistently shown a commitment to ensuring we have among the toughest gun laws in the country.
On October 28, 2021, Governor Kathy Hochul signed the Scott J. Beigel Unfinished Receiver Act, banning the sale and possession of so-called ‘ghost guns.’ The bill, which I sponsored in the Assembly, honors Scott, who lost his life trying to save his students during that tragic Valentine’s Day in Parkland referenced above. It was championed by his mother Linda Beigel Schulman who has dedicated her life to fighting gun violence in Scott’s memory. The law significantly increases protection to communities by creating much more accountability. It is intended, just as Scott intended, to save lives.
There really should not need to be a specified time to remind us we must do all we can to end the scourge of gun violence here in America. However, the staggering number of incidents along with (and caused by) the proliferation and accessibility of guns – combined with those willing to turn a blind eye to this – make it a necessity.
Assemblymember Charles Lavine represents New York’s 13th Assembly District in Nassau County. He presently serves as Chair of the Judiciary Committee and is a member of the Committees on Codes, Ethics and Guidance, Insurance and Rules. Lavine previously served as Chair of the Election Law Committee, Chair of the Committee on Ethics and Guidance, co-Chair of the New York State Legislative Ethics Commission, and as Chair of the bipartisan Taskforce that produced the Assembly Speaker’s Policy on Sexual Harassment, Retaliation and Discrimination. Lavine is also President of the New York Chapter of the National Association of Jewish Legislators and a member of its National Board of Directors.
