{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.gillibrand.senate.gov/news/press/release/gillibrand-stands-at-buffalo-police-department-discusses-anti-gun-trafficking-bill-getting-illegal-weapons-off-our-streets/", "Gillibrand Stands At Buffalo Police Department, Discusses Anti-Gun Trafficking Bill Getting Illegal Weapons Off Our Streets", "2024-10-11", "2024", "2024-10", "Democrat", "Senate", "NY", "Kirsten E. Gillibrand", "G000555", "www.gillibrand.senate.gov", "gillibrand", "https://www.gillibrand.senate.gov/press-releases/page/", "scraper", "Legislation Has Taken 3K Guns Off Our Streets And Been Used To Prosecute 6 Traffickers In Buffalo Alone\n\nToday, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand stood at the Buffalo Police Department to discuss the anti-gun trafficking statute in the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA), which was shaped by Gillibrand\u2019s Hadiya Pendleton and Nyasia Pryear-Yard Gun Trafficking and Crime Prevention Act. As of this month, the anti-gun trafficking statute has gotten more than 3,000 illegal guns off our streets, including 1,000 confirmed within the last 6 months alone. In Buffalo, the statute has been used to prosecute 6 traffickers and seize 30 illegal guns.\n\n\u201cLike so many communities across New York and around the country, Buffalo has been deeply affected by gun violence,\u201d said Senator Gillibrand. \u201cWhile we still have a lot of work to do, in the two years my anti-gun trafficking statute has been in effect, we have made tremendous progress prosecuting criminals and getting deadly weapons off our streets. I anticipate many more gun seizures, arrests, and convictions as a result of this statute in the years to come, and I will continue to work with my colleagues across the aisle to pass commonsense gun safety legislation.\u201d\n\nNationwide, the seized weapons included:\n\n317 AR-15s and AR-style weapons;\n\n478 machine gun conversion devices, which can convert semi-automatic pistols and rifles into fully automatic weapons in under a minute;\n\n206 ghost guns, homemade firearms that are completely untraceable \u2013 and a favorite of criminals.\n\nThe statute has also been used to charge 423 defendants in 33 states, plus D.C. and Puerto Rico, and to secure at least 119 convictions nationwide.\n\nIn Buffalo, Gillibrand\u2019s statute has been used to bring four cases against six defendants:\n\nAuthorities arrested and charged a 28 year old man for attempting to smuggle weapons into Canada via Buffalo. Authorities seized 19 firearms, including 1 AR-style weapon.\n\nA judge sentenced a Pennsylvania man to 36 months in prison for illegally selling guns over Facebook Messenger in the Jamestown, NY, area. Authorities seized 3 weapons.\n\nA father and son from Niagara Falls were arrested and charged with gun trafficking after they allegedly sold several firearms to a law enforcement source. The ATF Buffalo Field Office and the Niagara County Sheriff\u2019s Office worked together to seize 5 guns from the defendants, including a ghost gun and two machine gun conversion devices.\n\nTwo individuals were charged with firearms trafficking conspiracy after allegedly engaging in a scheme to illegally purchase guns in Pennsylvania and bring them to Buffalo to sell via Facebook. Authorities seized 3 guns during their investigation \u2013 1 via an undercover purchase and 2 during the arrest of one of the defendants.\n\nSenator Gillibrand\u2019s Hadiya Pendleton and Nyasia Pryear-Yard Gun Trafficking and Crime Prevention Act formed the centerpiece of BSCA\u2019s anti-gun trafficking provision. Gillibrand first introduced the bill in 2009 after meeting with the family of Nyasia Pryear-Yard, who tragically lost her life at 17 years old when she was shot by a perpetrator using an illegally trafficked gun. Gillibrand worked with Nyasia\u2019s mother, Jennifer Pryear, to pass the bill into law, and they attended the bill signing together in 2022.\n\nToday in Buffalo, Gillibrand was joined by Buffalo Common Council President Chris Scanlon, Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia, and WNY Coordinator of New Yorkers Against Gun Violence Paul McQuillen.\n\n\u201cThe Bipartisan Safer Community Act provides law enforcement with enhanced tools necessary to prevent gun violence,\u201d said Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia. \u201cThe Buffalo Police Department is working very hard to remove guns that are illegally possessed from our streets. Enhanced background checks along with Extreme Risk Protection Orders are saving lives by giving law enforcement the tools to investigate threats of mass harm and racially motivated extremist hate crimes. While we are not looking to infringe on a person\u2019s right to own a gun, we need to make sure we do all that is necessary to keep guns out of the hands of those that exhibit behaviors where they may cause harm.\u201c\n\n\u201cThe Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, signed into law in the wake of the 5/14 shooting in Buffalo, is working,\u201d said Congressman Kennedy. \u201cIt expands background checks, fights illegal firearm trafficking, and supports mental health and intervention programs that reduce gun violence. As a result, 3,000 illegal guns are off the street nationwide. Now, Congress must build on this progress to make our communities safer.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T18:55:29Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.gillibrand.senate.gov/news/press/release/gillibrand-stands-at-buffalo-police-department-discusses-anti-gun-trafficking-bill-getting-illegal-weapons-off-our-streets/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.544400118291378, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}