The most immediate threat New Yorkers face on a daily basis is the fear that they will be victimized by a criminal with a gun. Not only do we have to worry about face to face confrontations with heavily armed criminals, but we must also contend with the prospect of being caught in the cross-fire. For far too long, we have reacted to this challenge with passivity. Recognizing the danger, Assemblyman Lavine has introduced legislation that will help end such needless tragedies by effectively enabling law enforcement on the state level to gather important information about how illegal guns find their way into the hands of the criminals. The bill, A8585, will also enable our police to gain sorely needed intelligence about how gangs get their weapons and about how such unlawful enterprises operate. This legislation will fundamentally alter, for the better, the way our state criminal justice system functions.

Lavine’s legislation establishes the new crime of Related Use of a Lethal or Explosive Device (R.U.L.E.D). It mandates a consecutive sentence of five years for possession of a firearm or explosive that will have to be served after the criminal completes the sentence originally imposed on the underlying offense when that offense involves either a violent crime or any crime involving the sale or possession of a controlled substance. The criminal will first have to complete the sentence for the violent or drug related crime before the consecutive five year sentence begins to run.

The additional five year consecutive term will not be imposed so long as the criminal truthfully discloses to the satisfaction of the Judge and Prosecutor all information that person has concerning the source of the firearm or explosive device.

"This new crime will result in some very lengthy jail sentences," Lavine observed. "A consecutive five year term will be sufficient incentive for street thugs and robbers to betray the sources of their weapons. Once they start talking, we will gain much needed intelligence about how criminals operate and how they obtain their illegal guns. Their accomplices out on the street will always have to worry that the police will learn about their operations."

The legislation provides that there will be no waiver of the five year consecutive term if the use of the firearm or explosive device has resulted in the death or serious bodily injury of another person who was not a participant in the underlying offense.

With gang activity becoming an ever greater threat and with gangs relying on the drug trade as a steady source of income, this legislation will give our law enforcement officers a more basic weapon to boldly fight an intricately guarded crime community.

"This legislation will protect all New Yorkers and will go a long way towards defeating gangs and criminal enterprises. There is such a thing as a smart way to fight crime. This bill is just such a measure," said Assemblyman Lavine.

"Given that the legislation will fundamentally alter the way our system of criminal justice functions," noted Assembylman Lavine, "we will build on that bi-partisan support when the bill is reintroduced in the next legislative session. I am hopeful that we will find a Senate sponsor. This legislation is vital to protect our citizens and law enforcement officers. It is essential that we pass this measure." The popularity of this legislation was reflected in the enormous bi-partisan support it received in the Assembly. The measure had gathered nearly forty co-sponsors.

Designed by architects Shannon Diamondstein and Hui Min Chan and sculptor Joan Benefield, Nassau County’s Vietnam Veterans Monument will consist of two clasped hands emerging from a map of Southeast Asia. Much like the long black wall in Washington, D.C., it conjures an eloquence and stark and harrowing sentiment that reflects the experience of our troops who fought in those far away lands of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.

I was honored and privileged to participate in the groundbreaking for the monument on May 7, 2005. The wind and cold of that early afternoon did not prevent many veterans and their loved ones from attending. Perhaps it was because of all that has been written about Vietnam that so few words had to be spoken. Those few words were, however, intensely moving.

<All we ever had was ourselves" is the language that adorns the postcard describing the monument. Just six words. Yet they do indeed capture, in a way that hundreds of pages never would, the soul of the bond that cements the dedication those veterans have for one another.

For too many, the unfathomable difficulties that confronted them as young men in Indo-China were eclipsed by the challenges they encountered on their return home. Even though they were our family and had done our collective bidding, they were never embraced in the same way as their fathers and grandfathers who returned from the World Wars. Tragically, they came back to a nation that was itself torn apart and wounded.

And so many never returned. And so many of those who did would long endure the scars and pain.

The Nassau County Veterans Monument Fund has published a brief brochure that sums it up best: "From July 8th, 1959 until April 30th, 1975, the United States of America sent its finest sons and daughters to serve in Southeast Asia. Some served in the early years as advisors, covertly, or in theater support, while others later served in-country and in combat. They are all brothers and sisters in arms. During the course of the war, these troops found that they were not fully supported by the government that sent them or by its citizens. The valor, duty, and sacrifice of these brave men and women is unquestioned. They never lost a battle. They endured hell on earth. Yet, they returned home not to parades but to scorn."

Once again we find our sons and daughters committed to another difficult conflict far from our shores. Whether we agree with the policy that places them in harm’s way or not, we must learn from what happened to our troops in Vietnam and we must resolve not to repeat their mistreatment.

The rolling hills surrounding the Veterans Tower at Eisenhower Park are beautiful and serene. We can recall the sacrifice of our fathers and grandfathers who fought in the World Wars at their monuments. We now owe it to our brothers and sisters who served us so well in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia in those dark days of more than thirty years ago to finish their monument.

Let us now work together to complete that monument. Not only is this measure of respect long overdue, but it is truly the least we can do for the best their generation had to offer. And let us resolve to honor and protect our troops who now return from the war in the Middle East. That will be the most fitting monument to our Vietnam vets.