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Grant helping prosecutors step up efforts on gun crime
Josey1
Member Posts: 9,598 ✭✭
Grant helping prosecutors step up efforts on gun crimeBy Ty TagamiHERALD-LEADER STAFF WRITERLexington prosecutors said yesterday they are cracking down on gun crimes with funding from the Bush administration. But a national gun-control group said prosecuting criminals isn't enough to address gun violence in America.At a news conference, federal and city prosecutors said they have been working together since May to coordinate efforts against gun crimes. The Fayette County Commonwealth's Attorney's office and the U.S. Attorney's office in Lexington have been meeting every other week with police to keep up with gun-related investigations and to decide which court -- federal or state -- will allow the harshest sentence.Fayette County Commonwealth's Attorney Ray Larson said his office got a $42,500 grant to hire an assistant prosecutor who will track gun cases so they don't slip through the cracks. Frances Catron, the interim U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky, said she will also get enough to hire an extra prosecutor in October.``We're not into rehabilitating these armed hoodlums, we're into protecting the public from them,'' Larson said. It is a crime for anyone to possess a gun if he or she got a dishonorable discharge from the military, is under a restraining order in a domestic violence case, is a felon or has a serious mental illness. And it is a federal offense to lie about any of this on the form one must fill out when buying a gun from a licensed dealer.The grant comes from a $550 million fund the Bush administration has committed toward the prosecution of such crimes nationally over the next two years. They also will focus on crimes committed with firearms.Gun control advocates say such measures don't do enough to head off gun violence.Nancy Hwa, a spokeswoman for the Washington-based Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, said enforcement is only part of the equation. The country also needs tighter gun laws, she said. Lawmakers should restrict the illegal flow of weapons by requiring background checks at gun shows and the registration of guns to stymie black market sales, she added.``Prosecution is great, but we need prevention measures as well,'' Hwa said. ``Unfortunately, our laws are full of loopholes.'' http://www.kentuckyconnect.com/heraldleader/news/090601/localdocs/06guns.htm