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On Tuesday, July 6, Cuomo made the declaration in New York City, noting that the state has gone from one crisis to the next having largely conquered COVID-19.
“We went from one epidemic to another epidemic," he said. "We went from COVID to the epidemic of gun violence. More people are dying of gun violence than of COVID.”
Cuomo made note that over the Fourth of July weekend, more people died from gun violence than they did from COVID-19. Nationally, at least 233 people were killed and more than 600 were injured in hundreds of shootings over the weekend.
In New York, shootings in major cities were up 40 percent last year compared to 2019, and over the holiday weekend, there were 51 shooting deaths in New York compared to 13 virus-related deaths.
“Today I am issuing an Executive Order declaring a Disaster Emergency on gun violence,” Cuomo said. “Gun violence is a public health crisis, and we must treat it like one. This declaration will allow us to give this crisis the full attention & resources it deserves.”
Cuomo, who stated that the declaration was the first-in-the-nation, said that it will include the creation of the Office of Gun Violence Prevention to coordinate efforts and direct resources to areas that have seen an uptick in gun violence.
The office will include a task force of representatives from State agencies including the Offices of Mental Health, Children and Family Services, Temporary and Disability Assistance, the Prevention of Domestic Violence, Victim Services, the Departments of Labor, Housing, Health, Corrections, and Community Supervision, as well as Empire State Development, the State Police, Division of Budget, and others.
A total of $138.7 million in intervention, prevention, and jobs programs has also been pledged to engage at-risk youth and keep young New Yorkers off the streets, including $57.5 million on an "investment to engage at-risk youth," creating more than 21,000 jobs in the process.
State Police will also be creating a Gun Trafficking Interdiction Unit to keep illegal guns from entering the state. Cuomo noted that 74 percent of guns used in crimes statewide were purchased out of state.
“We're building New York back better than ever before, but part of rebuilding is addressing the systemic injustices that were exposed by COVID,” Cuomo said. “If you look at the recent numbers, more people are now dying from gun violence and crime than COVID - this is a national problem but someone has to step up and address this problem because our future depends on it.
"Just like we did with COVID, New York is going to lead the nation once again with a comprehensive approach to combating and preventing gun violence, and our first step is acknowledging the problem with a first-in-the-nation disaster emergency on gun violence,” he added. “When we see an injustice we don't look the other way, we stand up and fight it because that's the New York way."
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