State Senator Luis Sepúlveda Statement on Gun Violence

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Rusking Pimentel, 718-991-3161, comms@senatorsepulveda.com 

State Senator Luis Sepúlveda Statement on Gun Violence

(Bronx, NY) – In recent days, New Yorkers have been mourning the loss of several community members at the hands of gun violence. The root of gun violence, however, has often been linked to social injustice. Historically, our communities have suffered from discrimination, poverty, and a lack of basic services that every human being should have. Our state and city must provide solutions to the problems that cause this violence – and reforming the Bail Laws are not a solution. The unfounded attacks on these and other reforms to the judicial system do nothing more than respond with fear to our current crisis. At its core, we must understand that violence is a health and social problem. The facts do not lie: on average 80 percent of people released under the new Bail Laws have no incidents with the police during the time they wait for their cases to be resolved in court. Moreover, only 2 percent of these cases were re-arrested for violent crimes while waiting for their day in court. Additionally, the weapons with which violent crimes are committed do not originate from this state and, for the most part, are not manufactured here. They are brought from other states, and as legislators, it is our duty to work together with elected officials from other states to create stronger laws.

I share Mayor Eric Adams’ genuine concern for public safety. However, the "Blueprint to End Gun Violence" focuses on the wrong approach to this issue. I am concerned that there are difficult culprits that we are unwilling to face. The culprits of this violence are social inequalities, the lack of resources for our people, and the lack of basic needs that we must guarantee as a society such as the right to health, decent employment, stable housing, quality education, and public services. I can agree with Mayor Adams that we need timely solutions to these problems but I must insist that this is a problem of social inequality that has its roots in the health of our people and how we have failed to provide them with the tools they need for a better life.

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