Taking on the Scourge of
Gun Violence and Keeping
New Yorkers Safe

Thirty-three thousand Americans die each year from gun violence. 
Approximately 5,500 of these deaths are homicides of young, men of color. 
In New York State, there are nearly 3,000 shootings each year. 
 
The mass shootings that make the front pages and nightly news are 
devastating, but represent a fraction of the gun violence on our streets. 
This violence is devastating our families and communities, and is causing 
financial ruin to our local economies. It is estimated that gun violence costs 
New York State $5.6 billion each year. 
 
New York State has the third lowest rate of gun deaths in the country. Strict 
gun control laws in the state have reduced gun violence over the decades, 
but homicides continue to plague low-income communities of color.  
 
New York’s gun laws have made it exceedingly difficult to purchase a gun 
in the state, meaning that when a gun is used to commit a crime in New 
York, there is a 75 percent chance it was originally purchased in another 
state. In New York City, nearly 90 percent of crime guns originated 
elsewhere. 
 
Having strong gun laws in New York State is not enough. Particularly with 
the NRA waging a full-throated propaganda campaign to thwart any 
common sense gun laws passing at the federal level. New York has long 
been a leader in the fight against gun violence, but there we must do more 
to make our laws even more comprehensive, ramp up enforcement of the 
laws already on the books, and use creative thinking to make up for 
obstruction on the federal level and lax gun laws in other states.  
 
As Attorney General, I am announcing today that taking on gun crimes will 
be one of my top priorities. The Attorney General’s office must be in the 
vanguard of the fight against gun violence that is tearing apart our 
communities.  
 
As Public Advocate, I have used my office to fight the scourge of gun 
violence. I led the way on divesting New York City’s largest pension fund 
from gun retailers, stood up to banks that funded the makers of assault 
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 weapons, took on Walmart and pushed them to change their gun sale 
policies, took action against gun makers that failed to disclose risks to their 
shareholders, and successfully advocated for increased funding for the 
public health model of gun violence prevention. 
 
As Attorney General, I will target the NRA, take on arms dealers and 
manufacturers, investigate the financial backing of gun makers and sellers, 
and take on interstate trafficking.  
 
In the coming pages, I have outlined my strategy to combat gun violence as 
Attorney General. 

 
Tish James 
Candidate for Attorney General

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 Contents
Investigate the NRA

4 

Hold Gun Manufacturers, Dealers, and Financial Backers Accountable
Launch an Investigation the Financing of Guns

4 
5 

Build A New Model to Fight Interstate Trafficking

5 

Publish Expanded Gun Data Research

7 

Combat Emerging Threats
Prevent the Spread of Guns through Unchecked Online Gun Sales
Prevent the sale of Ghost Guns and 3D Printed Guns

7 
7 
8 

Ramp Up Enforcement of Existing Laws
Fight Organized Crime
Enforce New York State Licensing Laws
Instill Background Checks on Bullets

9 
9 
9 
9 

Pass and Defend Strong Gun Safety Laws

10 

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 Investigate the NRA  
New York State has a low gun death rate because it has some of the nation’s 
strongest and most effective gun laws. The NRA’s poisonous agenda is directly 
antithetical to that proud distinction. The NRA’s top legislative priorities are 
blocking common sense bills that would help stop the flow of out of state crime 
guns that are responsible for the bulk of New York gun crimes and passing the 
Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act, which would shred New York’s hard-won 
handgun regulations and make us vulnerable to people who secured handgun 
permits from states with the most dangerously weak gun laws. The NRA is an 
organ of deadly propaganda masquerading as a charity for public good. Its 
agenda is set by gun-makers who think arming teachers is a better idea than 
making it harder for kids to get military grade guns.  
As Attorney General, Tish James has the constitutional power to regulate 
charities, and she will use those powers to investigate the legitimacy of the 
charities under her jurisdiction, including the NRA.  

Hold Gun Manufacturers, Dealers, and 
Financial Backers Accountable 
There is clear evidence that gun manufacturers not only turn a blind eye to 
criminal use of their products, but actively court it by continuing to sell guns to 
bad apple dealers and flooding states with weak gun laws with more product 
than the legal market could bear on its own. Yet, Congress has not only blocked 
measures to prevent gun violence, they have actively made it more difficult for 
states, organizations, and individuals to seek redress through the courts by 
passing laws that immunize sellers and manufacturers from liability and cut-off 
the flow of information to the public. 
 
In 2005, Congress passed the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, which 
immunized gunmakers and dealers from civil liability for crimes committed with 
their weapons. However, that immunity is not absolute and a creative and 
aggressive Attorney General must find ways to hold unscrupulous manufacturers 
and dealers accountable. 

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 As Attorney General, Tish James will leverage her authority to reform industry 
practices and root out bad actors. She will investigate dealers under the state 
licensing laws and aggressively enforce prohibitions against the sale of assault 
weapons, disguised guns, and other illegal firearms. She will target 
manufacturers that knowingly sell guns to bad apple dealers or seek to introduce 
banned weapons into the New York market. She will go after fraudulent business 
practices by gun companies that deceive their shareholders by failing to disclose 
risks. She will also work with manufacturers and dealers trying to do the right 
thing to create model supplier agreements. She will launch an antitrust 
investigation into the coordinated suppression of life-saving Smart Gun 
Technology.  

Launch an Investigation into the Financing of Guns 
Gun manufacturers may have special protections against legal liability for the 
catastrophic toll caused by their products, but those protections do not extend to 
the banks that fund them. Banks have a fiduciary duty to their shareholders to 
disclose the risks associated with funding the gun trade, both legal and 
reputational.  
As Attorney General, Tish James will investigate deceptive and illegal practices in 
the sale of securities. 

Build A New Model to Fight Interstate 
Trafficking 
The bulk of crime gun trafficking originates from a string of states extending 
from Florida to Pennsylvania along Interstate 95. This phenomenon is so 
well-known and long-standing that the route these guns travel is commonly 
known as the “Iron Pipeline.”   
The root cause of the Iron Pipeline is the permissive and ineffectual laws that 
exist along the Interstate 95 corridor. In New York State, 74 percent of illegal guns 
originate outside of our state’s borders. Similarly, in New York City, 92 percent of 
guns seized by the NYPD come from outside of the state. The vast majority of 
these guns originate in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South 
Carolina, and Virginia. In general, these states lack sensible gun laws that prevent 
abuse and, as a result, lead to the massive export of guns into New York. For 
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 example, New York law limits purchasers to one gun purchase in a 90-day period. 
None of the six aforementioned states prohibit bulk gun purchases. The majority 
of these states also fail to require the most logical of protections, such as 
requiring gun owners to report lost or stolen guns, performing background 
checks on private firearms sales, and conducting background checks on 
employees of firearm retailers.  
The dangers associated with the Iron Pipeline are exacerbated by federal law that 
ties the hands of law enforcement. While the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, 
and Firearms (ATF) is responsible for tracking all gun sales, they are prohibited 
from maintaining a database of gun owners or electronically storing dealer 
information. Local law enforcement is not legally required to keep track of crime 
guns or share data on crime guns with the ATF.  
There is a long and proud history of State Attorneys General working together to 
create bold solutions to problems of federal inaction from 1970’s lawsuits to force 
the EPA to regulate polluters to the landmark settlement with big tobacco. Joint 
action by Attorneys General has been at the vanguard of the fight against the 
Trump Administration’s unlawful actions, and the time has come to turn that 
same focus to the federal failure to take trafficking in illegal guns.  
 
The most effective way to keep crime guns out of New York State would be to 
disrupt the chain of supply. With permissive federal laws, it is critical that state 
and local law enforcement join forces to disrupt interstate gun trafficking and 
prosecute it under state law. While not part of common practice in many states, 
there is an increasing body of empirical research pointing toward supply-side 
disruption as the future of gun violence prevention.  
 
As Attorney General, Tish James will seek to create a new coalition model to take 
on the gun violence epidemic. As the political tides shift, there will be new 
opportunities to join forces with other states that want to do their part to end the 
gun violence epidemic. She will work with coalition partners to create model 
background checks and anti-straw purchaser laws and build a network of 
prosecutors and law enforcement agencies dedicated to working together to stop 
the flow of illegal guns. Where other states refuse to help stem the flow of 
illegally trafficked guns, Tish James will use every power at her disposal from the 
bully pulpit to the courtroom to challenge their weak laws and shoddy 
enforcement. 
 
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Publish Expanded Gun Data Research  
Congress has essentially banned federal agencies from studying gun violence, 
meaning a near total dearth of comprehensive national data. Worse yet, it has 
prohibited the release of ATF trace data that would show not only that most New 
York crime guns originated along the Iron Pipeline and other states with weak 
laws, but that a disproportionate number of these guns came from a tiny 
percentage of stores. When the ATF was last able to release such data in 2000, it 
showed that one percent of gun dealers sold 57 percent of guns used in crimes. 
But the passage of what is known as the Tiahrt Amendment prohibits the ATF 
from releasing firearm trace data for use by cities, states, researchers, litigants, 
and members of the public.  
In 2016, the New York Attorney General’s Office created a first-of-its-kind report 
and analytics tool using firearm trace data from 2010-2015. This an 
extraordinary platform, but Tish James will do more. Reports created by Chicago 
and Boston disclosed significantly more detailed information about the specific 
sources of crime guns.  
As Attorney General, Tish James will not only update the platform annually and 
issue a report every year, she will scrupulously research the applicable disclosure 
laws and provide the maximum amount of lawful information. 

Combat Emerging Threats 
Prevent the Spread of Guns through Unchecked Online Gun 
Sales 
Federal law requires background checks for all retail firearm sales and prohibits 
firearm sales to felons, those convicted of domestic violence, individuals with a 
stalking order, and several other criteria. Background checks are proven to 
prevent dangerous individuals from purchasing guns, but the background check 
requirement only applies to federally licensed retailers and does not apply to 
private firearm sales on the secondary market -- creating a massive loophole in 
the law that leaves out thousands of gun transactions each year. A recent study 
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 estimates that some 22 percent of U.S. gun owners purchased their firearms 
without a background check.  
Not surprisingly, the internet has magnified markets for and availability of 
second-hand gun sales. For example, the website Armslist provides a platform for 
private sellers to advertise firearms. Armslist has some 170,000 listings for 
firearms and 95 percent of those listings belong to private sellers. Although New 
York law requires background checks for all transactions, buyers seeking to 
avoid a background check can simply purchase a firearm online from an 
out-of-state seller in order to do so. Making this more troubling, federal law 
insulates Armslist and similar websites that provide a platform for private 
firearm sales from liability related to the content of the material on their 
websites. 
Under these circumstances, preventing the spread of guns in New York requires 
the type of commitment and legal ingenuity that Tish James has demonstrated in 
her battle with gun manufacturers, retailers, and the banks that finance the 
industry, and which she will continue as Attorney General. Tish James will use 
the office’s investigative authority to discover which sites sell guns online to bad 
actors in New York. That information will be used to push a legal and legislative 
agenda to close the loophole.   

Prevent the sale of Ghost Guns and 3D 
Printed Guns  
As a result of new technologies such as 3-D printing and low cost mills, there is a 
burgeoning market for unmarked and unserialized weapons that can be 
assembled in one’s home. One retailer has even sought to trademark the name 
“Ghost Guns.” “Legally manufacture unserialized rifles and pistols in the comfort 
and privacy of home” is how another company boasted selling kits for AR-15 
assault rifles and other guns, complete with YouTube videos.  
The law currently creates a path for felons, those with mental illness, individuals 
convicted for domestic violence, and others, to possess advanced weapons like 
the AR-15. Around the nation, law enforcement is facing a growing challenge of 
encountering unserialized guns. Two unserialized semi-automatic rifles, 
including an AR-15, were used in a mass shooting that killed five people and 
wounded nine people in Tehama County, California in November, 2017. 
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 Companies are legally allowed to sell firearms that are 80 percent complete, 
because of a loophole in the Gun Control Act of 1968. The law prohibits the 
manufacture and sale of a firearm without a license but it does not apply to 
firearms that are less than 80 percent complete. Companies sell unmarked 
receivers that individuals can adapt with basic tools and kits to make into a 
dangerous firearm like a complete AR-15. California recently enacted laws to 
restrict this. 
As Attorney General, Tish James will use every tool at her disposable to hold 
“ghost gun manufacturers” accountable for failing to disclose possession of 
certain firearms, which is a crime in New York. She will work with the 
Legislature to close the federal loophole, and work with internet companies to 
remove unlawful videos that provide direction on how to create dangerous 
weapons.  

Ramp Up Enforcement of Existing Laws 
Fight Organized Crime 
The Organized Crime Task Force, led by an appointed Assistant Attorney General, 
investigates and prosecutes multi-county, multi-state, and multi-national 
organized criminal activities. As Attorney General, Tish James will add resources 
to the Task Force to investigate the connection between the opioid crisis and gun 
trafficking, work with State and local police to break up drug rings, and pursue 
gangs. 

Enforce New York State Licensing Laws 
While most New York crime guns come from other states, there are still far too 
many that originate right here at home. Unfortunately, the ATF has neither the 
means nor the inclination to undertake an aggressive enforcement regime. 
Despite the manifold increase in the manufacture of guns during the last decade, 
the ATF actually has fewer investigators than it did in 2001 (600-700 investigators 
to regulate the nation’s firearms manufacturers, importers, and dealers, as well 
as the explosives industry). In practical terms, this has meant that more than five 
years pass between inspections for more than half of all firearms dealers. New 
York has its own gun dealer licensing laws that must be vigorously enforced. As 

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 Attorney General, Tish James will lead an effort to crack down on straw 
purchasers and purchasers who lie on background checks. 

Instill Background Checks on Bullets 
As part of the SAFE Act, New York was supposed to begin conducting background 
checks on the purchase of bullets. Five years later, the system to perform this 
critical function still does not exist. Real-time tracking of ammunition purchases 
could help prevent needless gun violence and prove a significant boon to law 
enforcement charged with combating criminal activity. A full ammunition 
purchase database and background check system, coupled with the ability to 
track ammunition sales in real-time, would be a critical component in the fight 
against gun violence. In combating the scourge of gun violence, we must put 
every available tool at our disposal into action. That means bringing the 
ammunition database up online as soon as is practicable. As Attorney General, 
Tish James will fight to get the bullet background check system up and running 
immediately. 

Pass and Defend Strong Gun Safety 
Laws 
While New York is a model for gun violence prevention, there is still work to be 
done. As Attorney General, Tish James will fight to pass Extreme Risk Protection 
Order legislation to keep guns out of the hands of individuals most likely to harm 
themselves or others. She will push to shore up our background check system, 
require spousal notification of applications for firearms, establish a longer 
waiting period for gun purchases and pass responsible storage laws. She will 
work to ensure that our state laws are as extensive as possible when it comes to 
gun manufacturer liability and examine implementation of better ballistic 
tracking like microstamping.  
 
Unlike many states where local governments are expressly preempted from 
creating their own gun laws, New York provides localities some flexibility. ​New 
York Constitution Art. IX, § 2(c) and New York Municipal Home Rule Law § 
10(1)(ii)(a)(12) have been held to give localities the right to enact their own 
legislation so long as it doesn’t conflict with State law. As Attorney General, Tish 

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 James will work in her advisory capacity with localities who wish to enact 
appropriate legislation. 
 
Just as importantly, Tish James is prepared to vigorously defend New York’s gun 
laws and challenge federal laws -- such as Concealed Carry Reciprocity that 
encroach on New York’s legislative leadership on this issue, particularly if Trump 
is successful in nominating a new Supreme Court Justice.  

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