New York Gun Offender Registry Could Be Made Public, Searchable, Under New Bill

New Yorkers could get an email alerting them of a gun offender's move into their neighborhood, under a plan introduced into the City Council Thursday.

Councilman Costa Constantinides, a Democrat representing Queens, submitted a bill that would make New York's gun database public and model it on the Sex Offender Registry, which provides information to the public about anyone convicted of a relevant crime, including where they live, according to Capital New York. Mayor Bill de Blasio wanted to move quickly on the proposition, NY1 News reported, citing comments from unnamed City Council members.

The bill calls for the creation of a system that would allow the public to search the gun-crime database by ZIP code. It would also allow users to sign up for email alerts notifying them when gun offenders move into their area.

Councilman Ritchie Torres, a Bronx Democrat who is co-sponsoring the bill, told CBS Local: “We all know that most of the gun violence in our city is committed by a small percentage of the population, and we have a right to know who those few people are. Who are the people in our city who are driving almost all the gun violence in our neighborhoods?”

According to CityandStateNY, the bill also has a "rehabilitation aspect," which allows registered gun offenders to be taken off the registry if they maintain a clean arrest record for four years.

According to CBS News, which cited statistics from the New York Police Department, while overall crime, including murders, is down in the city this year, shooting incidents have climbed 13 percent compared to 2013. Last weekend, 23 people were shot in New York City, two of whom died.

Sponsors of the bill say they hope that it will get a hearing in the coming weeks.