Eddie A. Perez
Mayor
---NEWS RELEASE---
(February 27, 2006)--- Hartford Mayor Eddie A. Perez and Police Chief Daryl K. Roberts have once again joined forces with the organization Connecticut Against Gun Violence for the group’s continued support in working to keep guns off the streets of Connecticut and out of the hands of criminals.
A news conference was held today at the Johnson-Stewart Community Center on Martin Street in the City’s Northeast neighborhood. Mayor Perez praised the new “Red Flag Campaign” because the Mayor says, “It asks the right question: Where did they get the gun?”
Hartford Police have retrieved 1700 guns since 2002 and more than 500 last year alone. Mayor Perez commends Chief Roberts for making this a top priority of the HPD.
Mayor Perez emphasized his support for the state bill that requires gun owners to report lost or stolen firearms within 72 hours. He says, “Case in point: the East Windsor chiropractor and his wife who were found guilty of illegally possessing assault weapons. Their conviction in State Court came a month after being found guilty in Federal Court of conspiring to trade guns for drugs to feed their drug habit. If the lost and stolen gun bill had been law, it would have meant Hartford Police could have filed additional charges faster in this case.”
Another example of the importance of tracing the life of a gun came to light on May 25, 2004. That’s when John Zipoli shot two undercover officers serving a drug warrant on Zion Street. The weapon Zipoli used was a shotgun purchased at Caldor’s in West Hartford back in 1978. That’s the last record of that gun because there’s no requirement for registration or transfer of this kind of firearm. Mayor Perez says the Red Flag Campaign will raise awareness and the question asking the source of the gun used in a crime.
Mayor Perez says, ”The flow of illegal guns is not a city or suburban issue, it is not a state issue, it is a national crisis. That’s why I am one of the original members of Mayors Against Illegal Guns. I’m working closely with Mayors from all across the country to find effective ways to end the problem.”
Mayors Against Illegal Guns recently held its national summit in Washington D.C. At that meeting, members agreed to work to eliminate the TIAHRT amendments. These prevent the ATF from sharing certain gun trace information on illegal gun sales with local law enforcement. Mayor Perez believes that the brave men and women who serve and protect the residents of Hartford shouldn’t be denied access to important information that could help prevent crimes and save lives.