Mayor Eric Adams and Comptroller Brad Lander are establishing a code for financial institutions to report gun purchases to law enforcement.
QUICK FACTS:
- During a press conference at City Hall on Tuesday, Mayor Adams (D) made the announcement that New York City would be enforcing credit card companies to report “suspicious” gun purchases or ammo to officials.
- The Mayor called on American Express, MasterCard, and Visa to establish a merchant category code for firearms and to document bulk purchases.
- “Why can’t we have this code when you purchase guns? This is a real issue as 316 people a day are shot by guns in our country, and 106 die from guns,” Adams said. “When you think about these numbers, these are astronomical numbers.”
- The New York City government released a statement the same day, saying that the code would help catch “suspicious activity.”
- “The creation of a new code would help financial institutions detect and report suspicious activity, such as unusually large purchases of firearms or ammunition, or purchases from multiple stores, that may be use for criminal purposes,” the statement read.
MAYOR ERIC ADAMS TO CRITICS:
“You don’t have to agree on everything to agree on the fact that we have to be safe,” Adams said.
BACKGROUND:
- In February 2022, New York City experienced a 58.7% rise in overall crime compared to the same period in 2021, according to NYPD statistics. Robbery increased by 56%, grand larceny increased by almost 80%, and grand auto larceny rose 104.7%, while shooting decreased by 1.3%.
- Adams has previously blamed the city’s spike in crime on America’s “fixation with guns,” and that a “holistic approach” was needed to quell the violence.
- Earlier this year, the Mayor announced his “Blueprint to End Gun Violence,” but rates have continued to rise despite his approach, according to CNN.
- Last year, author and TV host Mark Levin claimed the left is politicizing tragedies across the country to do away with Second Amendment rights in the name of safety and gun control.
- “This is about getting rid of the Second Amendment,” Levin stated. “There are efforts underway by the Democrat Party and their surrogates now to unleash litigation against gun manufacturers in order to prevent them from creating the products that you and I want to buy under the Second Amendment. There have been efforts underway to limit the number of bullets you can buy. There are all kids of proposals out there that have as their purpose to destroy the Second Amendment.”
