Brooklyn DA still pushes gun control two years after Supreme Court troubling decision

Still deeply concerned about the impact of the decision by the US Supreme Court in striking down New York’s concealed carry law in 2022, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez has been pushing for gun control and redoubling his office’s efforts to keep communities safe.

Two years after that watershed ruling, known as Bruen, Gonzalez on Wednesday spoke with PBS NewsHour about his remaining concerns and his strategies in light of the changing legal landscape. 

He noted that Brooklyn has long been at the forefront of stopping the use of illegal weapons, which mostly originate from states with lax gun laws, as evident in a recent buyback in Crown Heights. 

“Seventy percent of the guns recovered in Brooklyn after crime basically come from three or four Southern states,” said Gonzalez outside the successful event, where 100 firearms were turned in, according to his office. “And they continue to come. So, these buybacks allow us also to kind of understand how guns are moving in our city.”

Gonzalez said gun violence is trending down in New York City, with a 19 percent decline in murder and a 31 percent decline in shooting incidents since Bruen was decided. 

“I’m still concerned,” he told the Newshour. “I really hope that the Supreme Court understands that states have to be able to regulate this in their own jurisdictions. 

“If we continue to just say, yes, anyone can carry, we’re going to see an uptick,” he added.

Gonzalez’s comments came as New York Attorney General Letitia James on Tuesday led a coalition of 22 attorneys general in supporting what she characterized as “commonsense” state and federal laws that regulate the sale of guns to keep communities safe. 

James said she and the coalition filed an amicus brief in US v. Steven Perez, arguing that federal laws preventing individuals from transporting or receiving firearms from outside the state in which they reside, except through a federally licensed firearms dealer, are important in  protecting public safety. 

The brief, filed in the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, explains that state and federal regulations of firearms dealers help reduce violent crime and support law enforcement investigations.

“States and the federal government should be allowed to enforce basic regulations about who can buy and sell guns to ensure they don’t end up in the wrong hands and to protect our communities,” said Attorney General James. “We know that these commonsense laws work and have prevented people from illegally obtaining firearms that could pose a significant threat to others. 

“My office will continue to do everything in our power to stop senseless gun violence, and that includes supporting commonsense regulations on the sale of guns, because these laws save lives,” she vowed. 

James said that, in 2020, Steven Perez received illegally purchased weapons from an unlicensed firearms dealer in South Carolina that were transported to him in New York City. 

The New York Attorney General said Perez was later arrested, criminally prosecuted, convicted and sentenced to prison in New York. 

She said Perez is appealing his conviction that was handed down in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, claiming that it violates his second amendment right to carry a firearm.

In the amicus brief, James and the multistate coalition argue that federal regulations on the transport of guns across state lines protect public safety, fortify state gun laws, and do not infringe on second amendment rights. 

The attorneys general say that state regulations of firearms dealers prevent the misuse of guns and help law enforcement effectively investigate gun-related crimes. 

For example, they argue that 17 states, including New York, require licensed firearms dealers to maintain detailed records of their inventory and sales, “which help law enforcement investigate violent crime and keep communities safer by ensuring that law enforcement has thorough, up-to-date information.”

The attorneys general also state that additional state regulations help curb unlawful access to firearms through theft, straw purchases and illegal sales. 

Joining Attorney General James in filing this amicus brief are the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawai‘i, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia.

James said she has been taking the lead in the fight to protect New Yorkers and communities throughout the nation from gun violence. 

In April 2024, she recalled that she took down gun traffickers for selling ghost guns and other firearms in Central New York. 

In March 2024, James secured a $7.8 million judgment against gun retailer Indie Guns for illegally selling ghost gun components in New York. 

The month before, James announced the takedowns of a gun trafficking network that sold ghost guns and assault-style rifles and a narcotics trafficking network in Dutchess County. 

In December 2023, Attorney General James and the New York State Police indicted a Manhattan man for trafficking guns and narcotics. 

In March 2023, James announced the takedown of a ghost gun and narcotics trafficking operation in New York City. 

In August 2023, she took action with a coalition of 18 attorneys general to defend Delaware’s ban on assault weapons and large capacity magazines. 

And, in December 2022, Attorney General James announced the takedown of a ghost gun trafficking operation in Queens and Westchester counties.