According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Education Association Health Information Network:

• In 2004 alone, the gun-related death toll for children and teens in the United States was 2,825 - this is more than the total number of U.S. service men and women killed in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan from 2003 to December 2006.

• In the U.S. in 2004, 58 preschoolers were killed by firearms, while 57 law enforcement officers were killed in the line of duty.

• American kids are 16 times more likely to be murdered with a gun and 9 times more likely to die from a firearm accident than children in 25 other industrialized countries combined.

The CDC and the Children’s Defense Fund also tell us that:

• It doesn’t matter whether you live in an urban, suburban, or rural environment - gun violence is a major public health problem throughout the U.S. Eighty people a day - 2,400 people a month - are killed by guns. Approximately 235 of these are children under the age of 20.

• In one year more children and teens in the U.S. die from gun-related injuries than from cancer, pneumonia, influenza, asthma, and HIV/AIDS combined. Since 1979, guns have taken the lives of more than 101,500 American children and teens - and the number continues to grow every day.

• For every one of these gun-related deaths there are between 4 and 5 nonfatal injuries. In a single year, these injuries add up to $2.3 billion in lifetime medical costs - about half of which is borne by taxpayers.

Assemblywoman Arroyo recognizes the seriousness of this problem and supported a package of bills designed to better protect our families from gun violence. That is why she fought for legislation that:

• creates new crimes for failing to securely store weapons (A.76);

• requires the commissioner of education to develop a weapons-safety program for schoolchildren (A.76);

• cracks down on the sale, delivery or transfer of firearms that do not have a childproofing mechanism (A.829);

• requires judges issuing orders of protection to inquire about the ownership of a firearmby the defendant (A.1497); and

• requires that guns are kept, transported and displayed in a secure manner (A.6525).

The package also (A.6525):

• requires gun dealers to cooperate with law enforcement officers tracking illegal guns;

• restricts sales to licensed premises;

• requires gun dealers to keep records of sales;

• ensures that employees selling guns are at least 21 years old and trained;

• requires liability insurance of at least $1 million; and

• sets penalties for gun dealers who fail to abide by the rules.

This important legislation also takes measures to ban "cop killer" bullets (A.3447) and to make .50-caliber and military-grade weapons illegal, keeping them out of the hands of criminals (A.2772 and A.7331).

In spite of the staggering numbers, the state Senate continues to block efforts to keep guns off our streets. Assemblywoman Arroyo will continue to fight to make sure all New Yorkers are safe from guns.