Brady Joins New Jersey to Combat Gun Violence in Impacted Communities

Trenton, New Jersey, May 28, 2019 — Just days after ten people were wounded in a mass shooting outside a Trenton bar, Brady joins New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy and mayors of three New Jersey cities — Newark, Paterson, and Trenton — to kickoff the implementation of the state’s Combating Crime Guns Initiative.

Only 5% of gun dealers nationwide are responsible for 90% of recovered crime guns. This small percentage of dealers are fueling gun violence in communities across the country — yet face almost no consequences. Through education, identification, and reform, Brady is working to ensure firearm dealers protect the public from gun violence, while creating safer communities all across the United States.

Governor Murphy announced the new initiative in April as a joint effort between New Jersey’s Center on Gun Violence Research at Rutgers University and Brady. The new program will take a city-led approach to address the trafficking and distribution of crime guns.

Brady President Kris Brown stated,

“Brady’s emphasis on working in — and with — impacted communities drives our crime guns programs. Today’s discussion is just the beginning; Brady is eager to be part of stopping brutal violence like the shooting we witnessed this past weekend in Trenton. Brady will continue to do everything in our power to keep guns off city streets and make ALL of America’s communities safe.”

The New Jersey crime gun initiative follows Brady’s crime gun programs in California and Wisconsin, which work reduce gun violence in impacted communities by stemming the flow of guns into those communities, frequently from dealers outside of the city or even the state.

After Saturday’s shooting, Trenton Mayor W. Reed Gusciora lamented, “New Jersey has some of the strictest gun laws in the country, but guns are easily accessible in some nearby states.”

Brady has established crime gun initiatives in Los Angeles, Oakland/Stockton, Milwaukee, and now New Jersey, creating partnerships with local officials, law enforcement, and community members to:

• Educate communities on the social and economic injustice of trafficked crime guns;

• Identify the sources of crime guns; and

• Reform or shut down gun dealers violating the law through enforcement actions and/or litigation.

As summer begins and temperatures rise, so do the number of shootings that occur across the US. In addition to the ten individuals wounded in Trenton over Memorial Day weekend, seven people were shot in D.C., with one fatality. According to the Gun Violence archive, in the last 72 hours gun violence has resulted in at least 113 deaths and 261 injuries— the majority in urban areas.