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Tuesday, March 18, 2008
LOCAL & NATIONAL LEADERS, LAW ENFORCERS ENDORSE BECERRA-AUTHORED MICROSTAMPING LEGISLATION
LOS ANGELES – Representative Xavier Becerra (CA-31), Assistant to the Speaker of the House, announced today that his legislation, the National Crime Gun Identification Act (H.R. 5266), has received the endorsement of Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca, Los Angeles Police Chief William J. Bratton and the Los Angeles City Council.
At a press conference today where these leaders gathered in front of the Newton Community Police Station in his congressional district, Rep. Becerra thanked them for their support and briefly walked through what his legislation accomplishes and the technology it seeks to proliferate.
“I want to thank my friends for standing with me today in support of this common sense legislation,” Rep. Becerra said. “Gun microstamping is a simple and effective technology that promises to save lives and keep violent criminals off the streets. It is inexpensive for gun manufacturers to implement, does not infringe on personal ownership rights, and provides a powerful investigative tool to our law enforcement officers.”
Microstamping is the next generation in ballistics technology that gives police more precise investigative leads to pursue criminals. Internal surfaces of the gun etch tiny characters on every fired bullet cartridge so that officers can identify the make, model and serial number of the gun from which it was fired. A single microstamped cartridge recovered at a crime scene can lead police to the gun – and the criminal that fired it.
“We must take action to protect our citizens and ensure that our children and communities no longer get caught in the crosshairs of gun and gang violence,” Mayor Villaraigosa said. “As our youth hear the echo of gunfire each night and grow up in the shadow of drive-by shootings and gang battles, our leaders in Washington must not shirk their responsibilities to get guns off the streets and out of the wrong hands. That’s why I am calling on Congress to follow Rep. Becerra’s lead and pass the National Crime Gun Identification Act without further delay.”
H.R. 5266 would require that all semiautomatic pistols sold after January 1, 2010, include microstamped identifiers.
“When will our nation learn that there are common sense laws that can protect everyone in our nation, and especially our young people, from gun violence?” Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley said. “Both Los Angeles and Chicago strongly believe in the right of municipalities and states to enact strict but balanced gun laws – such as the microstamping proposal we’re talking about today – to keep our residents safe.”
"We need to give law enforcement every tool possible to track down suspects in gun crimes,” Los Angeles City Council President Eric Garcetti said. “Congressman Becerra’s National Crime Gun Identification Act sends a message to criminals that use guns: we will find you and you will be brought to justice."
H.R. 5266 has also received the support of the New York Times, which published an editorial in its favor this past February 15.
A long-time advocate of microstamping technology, Rep. Becerra held a briefing and live demonstration of microstamping technology last May in Washington, D.C. Click here to watch the briefing, courtesy of C-SPAN.
To learn more about H.R. 5266, please visit Rep. Becerra’s microstamping Web site. To download the media kit from today’s press conference, which includes endorsement letters from Mayor Villaraigosa, Mayor Daley, Sheriff Baca, and City Council Resolution #08-00002-S32, please click here.
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