BOSTON, Sept. 12, 2013—Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley today delivered the following legislative testimony on H.3250, An Act to Combat Gun Violence, at the Massachusetts State House:
“Distinguished members of the Committee: Thank you for this opportunity to testify on behalf of my office and members of law enforcement and the community.
“Each year since I took office as DA, more people have been killed by illegal firearms in the City of Boston than every other weapon combined. So I would first like to put to rest this notion that, if we make it harder for violent offenders to get their hands on guns, they’ll simply use some other implement. Every household has a kitchen knife, but during the past 11 years, 27 children age 16 or under have been killed in Boston by illegal firearms, not kitchen knives. That’s an entire classroom of children lost not simply to violence, but to gun violence.
“As prosecutors, we’ve embraced a strategy that goes far beyond the courthouse walls. We’re in the schools and community centers to speak directly to youngsters about good and bad choices. We divert first-time, low-level offenders away from the criminal justice system and instead target violent offenders who drive and perpetuate the city’s violent crime. We give tens of thousands of dollars to community groups each year to keep the kids of Boston and Suffolk County away from drugs, gangs, and crime to deter them from picking up a weapon that can end or change a life in seconds.
“But no community-based support program can compete with the easy access that violent offenders have to illegal firearms. We all saw the abject failure by Mitch McConnell and others to bring meaningful gun reform in the US Senate earlier this year. We in Massachusetts have to redouble our own efforts and do the work that Washington refused to do. I’ve drafted An Act to Combat Gun Violence to tackle the secondary gun market and change Massachusetts law to close loopholes and address flaws we see in court and on the street every day. I want to thank Rep. Russell Holmes of Mattapan for sponsoring this bill and point out his unwavering commitment, not just to his constituents but to the safety and livability of their neighborhoods. He’s been a tremendous partner in moving the ball forward as we work together to reduce the availability of illegal guns in Boston.
“This isn’t a flashy bill. It’s a policy wonk’s bill with provisions inspired by our own experience and that of experts across Massachusetts and the nation. To address off the bat the frequent complaints of the gun lobby, it doesn’t create a single new criminal statute. Instead, it recommends 26 changes to state law, and the most important are those that address the secondary gun market in Massachusetts and make it harder for violent offenders to obtain firearms so cheaply and easily.
“When the penalty for illegally carrying firearms was enhanced in 2006, there was no corresponding increase in the penalty for illegally selling firearms. And when a state law was enacted to forbid felons from becoming licensed firearm dealers, it neglected to bar dealers from hiring felons. This bill would close both of those loopholes, providing a 2½-year minimum for unlawfully selling a firearm and forbidding felons from employment or volunteer positions with a licensed firearms dealer.
“The bill would also streamline the process for reporting guns lost or stolen by allowing rightful owners to file a report with their local police department instead of state licensing authorities. And just as importantly, it will put teeth in the enforcement of that requirement. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives reports that 25% of its gun trafficking investigations involve stolen guns. This bill would allow up to 2½ years behind bars for anyone who knowingly fails to report their firearms lost or stolen, an offense currently punishable by only a $200 fine.
“It would provide a 90-day period for any unlicensed heir who inherits a firearm to obtain a license or lawfully transfer the firearm to a person with a license, and it would clarify current law that that firearms bought outside Massachusetts, even at gun shows or through private sales, must be registered inside Massachusetts.
“And it would require insurance for gun owners to cover accidental or unlawful injuries inflicted with their firearms. This would not extend to lawful cases of self-defense, but it would apply to the hundreds of injuries and fatalities each year that are the direct result of negligent or improper use of firearms.
“It also closes several major loopholes in our current gun statutes.
“Massachusetts law currently imposes a minimum year and a half behind bars for carrying an illegal firearm on a public way. The same defendant, with the same record, convicted of possessing the same illegal firearm, loaded with the same ammunition, inside his house can walk out of court with probation. This is a fact pattern we see in as many as 25% of our gun convictions, oftentimes among the most serious cases – the ones involving search warrants based on long-term drug and gang investigations. This bill will close the loophole and provide the same penalty for the same gun no matter where it’s recovered.
“Massachusetts provides enhanced penalties for unlawful possession of a firearm as a second or subsequent offense, but that statute doesn’t cover large capacity weapons, loaded weapons on the street, or unlicensed firearms in a home or place of business. This bill provides clear and uniform coverage for all second or subsequent firearm possession offenses, and it makes clear that out-of-state gun convictions count as predicate offenses under those statutes.
“This bill would also make it easier to solve violent crimes and hold armed offenders accountable. It would require handgun firing pins to be microstamped with a unique identification number that’s then transferred to shell casings, making it easier for investigators to identify the firearms used in fatal and nonfatal shootings. The technology exists, it’s getting better every day, it’s required under a 2007 law currently on hold in California, and it’s being looked at in six other states. It was the subject of a 2008 federal bill advanced in the Senate by Ted Kennedy. Let me make something very clear here: There is perhaps no recurring offense harder or more important to solve than an outdoor shooting with no witnesses. Mandating this change would put a fresh lead at the scene of every shooting and have an immediate effect on law enforcement’s ability to solve them.
“And it would address one of the leading national concerns after a wave of mass shootings, that of mental illness and firearms possession. This bill would require the courts and Department of Mental Health to share information on involuntary commitments, findings that defendants lack the mental capacity to manage their own affairs, and domestic violence convictions to firearm licensing authorities.
“In March, the Journal of the American Medical Association released the results of a four-year study correlating gun legislation and firearm-related fatalities. Their findings were unequivocal – a higher number of state firearm laws is associated with a lower rate of firearm fatalities, overall and for suicides and homicides. The good news is that Massachusetts was at the top of the list for high legislative strength and low rates of gun fatalities. But the bad news is that homicide remains the single leading cause of death for young people aged 15 to 24 in Massachusetts. We can do better – and for the young people in Boston, Suffolk County, and the Commonwealth, I urge you to see to it that we do. Thank you.”
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For a summary of the bill, click here: http://www.suffolkdistrictattorney.com/front-page-highlights/an-act-to-combat-gun-violence/
