Getting gun control legislation through Congress isn't impossible but it isn't easy. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand believes there is bipartisan backing for legislation to criminalize interstate shipments of illegal guns.
The Albany-area Democrat says hundred of guns are coming into New York from states with limited or no restrictions on gun purchases. Many come north on Interstate 95 along the so-called "Iron Pipeline." She says three-police officers have been killed recently with guns smuggled into the Empire State.
"Gun trafficking is hurting our state. We have to crack down and we have to do our job to stop it," Gillibrand said during a media conference call.
"In Albany, the feds recovered 121 guns in 2013. In Syracuse, 317 guns were recovered. In Buffalo, 579 guns were recovered. And, in Rochester, 624 guns were recovered.
Gillibrand says the problem is that shipping in these illegal guns isn't a federal crime but should be. She says members of both houses of Congress want change. At the same time, the senator says she will block attempts to water down New York's gun restrictions by allowing residents of other states to bring in their guns if legal in their home states.