Cuomo Declares A Gun Violence Emergency, Blames Manufacturers For Public Nuisance Products

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo recently declared a disaster emergency on gun violence in the state of New York. While speaking at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in Manhattan, he announced $138 million in new spending to “stop the surge” in shootings across the city. He said that gun violence and crime should be the top priority for every mayor in the state because every city has been affected by it.

Cuomo started the press conference touting his response to the coronavirus, emphasizing that there were only 13 COVID-19-related deaths over the Fourth of July Weekend. However, 38 people died over the weekend due to gun violence.

“We went from one epidemic to another epidemic. We went from COVID to the epidemic of gun violence. And the fear and the death that goes along with it. When you look at the recent numbers, more people are dying of gun violence than of COVID … we’re losing young people,” Cuomo said.

Cuomo claimed it was a matter of “saving lives” and that New York’s future depends on stopping the gun violence epidemic. Democrats will never get that guns are inanimate objects that are neither good nor bad and it is the person holding the gun that decides what to do. As long as that problem is not addressed, the violence in Cuomo’s New York will continue.

During the speech, Gov. Cuomo unveiled a seven-point plan to treat gun violence and zero in on shooting hotspots, adding that people will not come back to the city until they know it’s safe. He said they would treat violence as an “emergency public health issue” and provide positive engagement for at-risk youth, such as a $57 million investment in funding art and social programs. The programs would supposedly create 21,000 jobs for youth over the summer through local, city, and state agencies.

“We also want to form a council on gun-violence prevention, that gets your minds at the table to develop a strategy and the laws that we need to make a difference. Everything is on the table. We all want the same thing, and that’s what we’re going to do,” Cuomo said.

At one point during the speech, Cuomo went off in a bizarre rant and starting joking about his own vision of building a “magic” wall to stop traffickers from smuggling guns and other weapons into New York. He blamed the southern states with “less restrictive gun laws” and said they would build a “tall big beautiful wall” to fix it.

“We have the wall go for miles. And we have a little gold leaf up at the top of the wall, little gold shiny leaf. And then we put a big name across the wall, and the name, the name has five letters. You know the name? I can see it. Can you see it? C-U-O-M-O,” Cuomo said with a grin.

Gov. Cuomo also signed recent legislation that closed a loophole that allowed people with outstanding warrants for their arrest to purchase guns and take action against gun manufacturers for producing a product that causes a “public nuisance.” He said he wants everyone to understand the “extent of the problem” and how serious it is.

But New York Senate Republican Leader Rob Ortt slammed Cuomo’s announcement and emphasized that the gun violence crisis has a direct link to the state’s bail reform laws.

“Days after finally relinquishing his emergency powers, the governor has declared another emergency. The crisis in cities across our state today directly correlates with the passage of the disastrous bail and other criminal justice ‘reforms,’ an out-of-control parole board that has released countless murderers and other dangerous criminals, and calls by Democrats to defund our police,” Ortt said.

Hours before Cuomo’s announcement, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio claimed that shootings in June 2021 have been “slightly down” compared to June 2020. He said that there is a lot more work to do but that overall crime is down. Mind you, Cuomo and de Blasio have defended not hiring more cops, even amid a crime surge.

Democrats will blame everyone and everything before blaming the person pulling the trigger. It’s a human violence problem, not a gun epidemic. But Cuomo wants another term so bad, he’s looking for any saving grace to get there.