New York governor Andrew Cuomo has declared a state of emergency in New York due to increased gun violence.
On Tuesday, Cuomo detailed the Executive Order in a tweet, calling the growing gun violence a “public health crisis.” The move comes as 51 people were shot over the Fourth of July weekend.
“This declaration will allow us to give this crisis the full attention & resources it deserves,” he stated.
Cuomo’s plan to combat crime includes gathering data regarding where shootings are taking place from police agencies across the state, cracking down on locations where illegal firearms are being sold, and new initiatives to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous citizens.
In addition, Cuomo announced that he would create 21,000 jobs for the state’s at-risk youth through a $57 million summer jobs program, though the total cost of the new gun violence action is $140 million.
“We’re going to hire young people, train them, put them on the job, and then not just give them a job, but give them a good-paying career when they finish school, so they know this is not just a stopgap,” Cuomo said in a statement. “You can be a carpenter. You can be an electrician. You can be a tradesman. You can have an entire future ahead of you.”
Cuomo also intends to sign two bills into law, prohibiting anyone with active warrants from acquiring firearms and prohibiting cops responsible for wrongdoing in one department from switching to another.
