Brooklyn Senator Zellnor Myrie has been honored as a Lawmaker of the Year by a group of national gun safety organizations, who said Myrie's fight to strip gunmakers of immunity from civil liability lawsuits was evidence of his leadership on the issue of gun safety.
Everytown for Gun Safety, Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action honored elected officials who they said had shown unparalleled leadership on gun safety. Myrie, they said, showed that with his first-in-the-nation bill that allowed civil liability lawsuits against gun makers and dealers who negligently allow their weapons to end up on New York streets.
The bill was signed into law last month, and recently cited by the Biden Administration as a national model in the fight against gun violence.
Myrie said he was "incredibly honored to receive this award," saying he stood shoulder to shoulder with Everytown, Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action.
"Together, we've shown the nation what a holistic, multi-pronged approach to fighting gun violence looks like. Our success in this fight, and in the fights ahead, depends on an incredible network of allies, and I couldn't have asked for a better partner than Everytown."
Myrie said the recently passed law was extremely important, as it was "virtually impossible to hold bad actors in the gun industry accountable, with federal laws.
Earlier this year, Myrie passed the "Community Violence Intervention Act," committing the State to fund hospital-based violence intervention programs and community-based violence interruption programs, which provide a credible, non-police response to gun violence.
Myrie said the year's victories on tackling gun violence were not his alone, and would not have been possible without "committed, on-the-ground activists working every day on the front lines to stop gun violence before it starts."
"Their work inspires me to continue fighting for legislation, funding and other resources that will improve the safety of communities from Brownsville to Buffalo, and protect our families from the plague of gun violence."
Other honorees this year include the Biden-Harris Administration and Dayton, OH Mayor Nan Whaley.
