“Twenty-four members of the New York Congressional delegation have taken a stand for law enforcement and public safety by today sending a joint letter to Attorney General Eric Holder asking President Obama to remove the so-called Tiahrt Amendments from his executive budget.  These damaging restrictions block access to critical gun trace data and prevent ATF from requiring gun dealers to check their inventories – despite the fact that more than 30,000 guns went missing from just 10 percent of gun dealers in 2007.

“This letter was sent because of the diligent work of Representatives Carolyn McCarthy and Peter King, as well as Senator Charles Schumer. And I am especially pleased that our new Senator, Kirsten Gillibrand, has joined in our effort to combat illegal guns.  I want to thank all the signers of the letter, including the members of Appropriations Committee: Representatives Maurice Hinchey, Steve Israel, Nita Lowey, and Jose Serrano.  Their leadership is crucial in removing the Tiahrt Amendments and helping our bi-partisan coalition of Mayors Against Illegal Guns achieve one of our most important goals: giving our police officers the tools they need to keep illegal guns out of the hands of criminals.”