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AG Campbell Urges Congress To Take Action To Stop Gun Trafficking Into Caribbean Countries

LEGAL NEWSLINE

Thursday, November 21, 2024

AG Campbell Urges Congress To Take Action To Stop Gun Trafficking Into Caribbean Countries

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Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell announced that she has joined a coalition of 12 attorneys general in calling on Congress to take action to stop gun trafficking from the United States to Caribbean countries. In their letter, the attorneys general allege that gun trafficking from the United States has contributed to gun violence, homicides, the facilitation of drug smuggling, and instability in Caribbean countries—the consequences of which are felt here in the United States.

The coalition outlines a number of measures Congress can take to help reduce gun trafficking into the Caribbean, including ensuring inspectors at ports have enough resources to make inspections and passing the Caribbean Arms Trafficking Causes Harm (CATCH) Act. The CATCH Act would provide state and federal governments with more information about gun trafficking into the Caribbean and determine which anti-gun trafficking methods are working to reduce gun violence.  

In their letter, the coalition of attorneys general write that guns smuggled into the Caribbean from the United States have surged in recent years and contribute significantly to gun violence in those countries. For instance, a 2023 United Nations report indicated that the United States has been a “principal source of firearms and munitions in Haiti.” Additionally, the Jamaican Security Ministry estimates that at least 200 guns are trafficked from the United States into the country each month. The attorneys general write that addressing the outbound flow of guns from the United States is “a service to our constituents,” many of whom have ties to family and loved ones in the Caribbean. 

In addition to calling on Congress to pass the CATCH Act, the coalition is asking lawmakers to take additional steps to stop gun trafficking into those countries by: 

  • Ensuring that inspectors at American ports are given sufficient resources to inspect shipments being sent from the United States to countries in the Caribbean;  

  • Ensuring that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) has sufficient funding to inspect federal firearms licensees that are responsible for a disproportionate number of firearms that are traced after having been used in crimes in countries in the Caribbean; and  

  • Requesting briefings from the United States Postal Service, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of Justice about their ongoing efforts to interdict shipments of guns from the United States to countries in the Caribbean, with a focus on what additional resources and legal tools they need to accomplish this important task. 

This letter is AG Campbell’s latest effort to combat the nationwide gun violence epidemic. In November 2023, AG Campbell launched the Gun Violence Prevention Unit (GVPU), which has leveraged the tools of the office to bolster and enforce the state’s nation-leading commonsense gun laws. Earlier this week, AG Campbell announced that she has co-led a coalition of 22 attorneys general in supporting an ATF rule that seeks to curb gun trafficking.

This matter was handled by Director Christine Doktor and Deputy Director Ryan Mingo of the Attorney General’s Office’s Gun Violence Prevention Unit. 

Joining AG Campbell in sending the letter were the attorneys general of California, Connecticut, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and the District of Columbia.

Original source can be found here.

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