BOSTON, Feb. 25, 2014—Suffolk County District Attorney Dan Conley today joined anti-violence activists, city leaders, and law enforcement officials to announce an advertising campaign on the MBTA that’s geared toward reducing access to illegal firearms.

Conley spoke at Ruggles station with Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh and City Councilor Ayanna Pressley, Boston Police Commissioner William Evans, Transit Police Chief Paul MacMillan, the mothers of homicide victims Warren “Danny” Hairston and Steven Odom, and others in support of Operation LIPSTICK – Ladies Involved in Putting a Stop to Inner-City Killing. Before a crowd of commuters and flanked by placards showing the new advertisements, he delivered the following remarks:

From left to right, Suffolk County District Attorney Dan Conley joins MBTA Transit Police Chief Paul MacMillan; Rev. Kim Odom, Operation LIPSTICK field director and mother of 13-year-old homicide victim Steven Odom; and Nancy Robinson, executive director of Citizens for Safety. They and other leaders unveiled a campaign of advertisements that will run on MBTA property urging women not to purchase or store firearms for men who can’t legally do so themselves. (Photo: Jake Wark)

“Just last week, Boston Police arrested a 28-year-old man and an 18-year-old young woman during a drug investigation downtown.  The young woman was carrying a large amount of crack cocaine and a semiautomatic handgun loaded with 14 rounds of ammunition.  And what was the man carrying?  $1,900 in cash.  That’s right – he took all the money and she took all the risk.  Based on his record and the officers’ observations, we have no doubt that it was his gun and his criminal enterprise, but she’s looking at prison time for possession of a high-capacity firearm.

“In another case from last year, Boston Police received information that a young man with a violent record was carrying an illegal firearm.  They located him with his younger sister, spoke with both of them, and came to find that the sister was carrying a loaded handgun in her purse.  Because of the information the officers had received, as well as the young man’s record, it was their belief – and ours, as prosecutors – that he had enlisted her to carry his gun in the event he was stopped by police.

“This is a scenario that’s played itself out too many times to count.  Experienced offenders have no qualms about using young women to carry, store, and even obtain their weapons through straw purchases.  And this is where LIPSTICK comes in: by educating women, particularly young women, and empowering them to say ‘No – I am not going to risk my family’s safety by storing your weapon in my home.  I am not going bring another gun into my neighborhood by buying it for you in New Hampshire.  And I am not going to do the time for your crime.’

“As a prosecutor for about 20 years now, I’ve seen that social forces like peer pressure can change people’s behavior just as effectively as legislation and criminal sentences – maybe even more so.  LIPSTICK brings those forces to bear on gun violence, which is a top public health concern in Boston and every other big city in America.  If federal lawmakers, gun manufacturers, and states with lax gun laws aren’t going to step up and do something about it, then we’ve got to do it ourselves.  So I want to give Operation LIPSTICK a round of applause for launching this program, pledge my support and the support of my office, and thank the MBTA for publicizing it through these ads.

“Gun violence affects everyone – victims, defendants, their families, and their communities.  I’ve supported LIPSTICK from day one because it’s the only program I know of that specifically empowers women to take an active role in reducing it.  By refusing to make straw purchases or hold guns for someone else, women of every age can make our streets safer for themselves and their loved ones.  This is a great campaign and I’m proud to be a part of it.  Thank you.”

For more information on Operation LIPSTICK, visit http://citizensforsafety.org/operation-lipstick/.

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All defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.