‘One Epidemic to Another’: Gov. Andrew Cuomo Declares Gun Violence Emergency in New York

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has declared a gun violence emergency in New York Tuesday to combat a rise in the number of shootings across the state. As part of the declaration, the state will allocate nearly $140 million to preventative measures like programs for at-risk youth and helping people find jobs. “It’s a matter of life and death also and we can’t afford not to commit ourselves 100 percent to this effort and spend what we need to spend,” Cuomo said. The governor also signed legislation granting gun-violence victims the right to sue gun manufacturers and barring individuals with warrants from purchasing firearms, CNN reports. These efforts come as crime has risen by 75 percent in some New York cities, a trend that has also been seen in other major cities across the nation, The New York Times reports. “We went from one epidemic to another epidemic,” Cuomo said. “We went from COVID to the epidemic of gun violence and the fear and the death that goes along with it.” The emergency declaration also addresses how to improve community relationships with police.