Thursday, 4:30 PM
Legislators seek to halt gun trafficking
By Suzanne Smalley, GLOBE STAFF
Law enforcement officials and community leaders Wednesday hailed a new proposal to stem the flow of guns to city streets.
Legislation filed by state Senator Jarrett Barrios seeks to make it more difficult for gun traffickers to avoid detection by creating a central database tracking guns bought and sold on the secondary market. It will also make it illegal to not report a lost or stolen gun, allow judges to consider illegal gun possession when setting bail, and ban the bulk purchase of firearms.
Barrios and other legislators will release a report on illegal gun trafficking at the State House on Thursday, alongside police officials, prosecutors, and community leaders who advocate passage of the legislation.
Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said the change in the bail law would be especially significant, because judges are now limited to considering primarily whether a defendant is likely to flee.
The new bail language "would make an almost immediate difference out on the streets," Conley said. "People who carry guns are inherently dangerous, and the bail statute should reflect that."
