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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State
Rep. Thaddeus Kirkland |
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Philadelphia legislators applauding NBCSL support
of resolution to combat crime
PHILADELPHIA, Dec. 18 – State Reps. Harold James, Thaddeus Kirkland, Ron Waters and Jewell Williams, all D-Phila., are applauding the National Black Caucus of State Legislators for adopting a resolution aimed at halting the escalation of violent crime in the United States.
The resolution, authored by the four legislators, highlights two measures in particular which they assert would have a major impact on combating crime.
The first measure the lawmakers promote is microstamping. Microstamping is a comprehensive ballistic technology that provides law enforcement with the ability to link a cartridge case to the firearm from which it was fired.
The second measure endorsed in the resolution is greater gun trace data sharing among local, state and federal law enforcement agencies. Gun trace data is an effective way to trace the location of gun dealers who regularly violate the law and knowingly sell guns to criminals.
The lawmakers said increasing the use of these technologies can empower police and the justice system and help mitigate the rise in crime, which increased as much as 20 percent in some localities between 2004 and 2006, while increasing only 2 percent nationwide during the same period.
As a result of the four Philadelphia legislators’ resolution, NBCSL is supporting a national policy that calls for prohibiting the manufacture, sale or transfer or firearms without microstamping characteristics. The policy also asserts NBCSL’s opposition to the “Tiahrt Amendment,” which limits the ability to use gun trace data to locate illegal gun dealers.
The lawmakers and NBCSL also support examining ways to fund more neighborhood programs, including ones to empower residents to fight crime and offer shelter to youth attempting to escape gangs.
NBCSL has dispatched copies of the lawmakers’ resolution to the president, vice president, members of Congress and other elected officials.
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CONTACT: Nicole Reigelman |