In an effort to reduce gun violence, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. wants to publicize the names and addresses of those convicted of gun-related felonies and will introduce legislation on the city and state levels calling for the creation of an online gun offender registry.

“If such a gun-crime registry were online, as the state’s sex offender registry is, anyone would be able to view the names and addresses of people convicted of gun-related felonies,” said Diaz in a statement after announcing the plans during his fourth State of the Borough speech two weeks ago. “I strongly believe that law-abiding citizens ought to know who among us is responsible for gun violence. Most importantly, this easily-accessible gun crime registry would serve as a deterrent from such acts.”

Repeatedly, Diaz has compared his proposed online gun registry to the sex offender registry, hoping it will have the same impact on criminals. Although the concept is the same, gun-related crimes do not have the same stigma as those committed by sex offenders, said John Small, a professor in Monroe College’s criminal justice department and a  retired NYPD sergeant, and the impact of registry could be completely different.

“I applaud the Bronx borough president for bringing light to the issue. The issue of gun crimes is huge in our community,” Small said. “There are some serious differences between [publicizing] sex crimes and gun crimes, depending upon the scope of what [the registry] would include. In certain subcultures and gang cultures, prison is a badge of honor. It could be the same with a gun registry.”

Tom King, president of the New York State Rifle and Pistol Association, said guns aren’t the issue.

“If there is going to be a gun crimes registry, there is already a sex offender registry, there should be an assault registry, a theft registry, a political corruption registry and let’s register everybody that’s a criminal,” King said. “It’s not the guns. It’s the criminals.”

Small said that defining the registry would be important.

“When you’re talking about [felony] gun crimes, you’re talking about everything from criminal possession of a weapon, all the way up to murder, so there is a large gamut,” Small said. “The details are very important.”

Recently, during an appearance on the show BronxTalk, Diaz said he’s hoping state and city officials pursue the legislation. On Monday, March 11, Bronx State Senator Jeff Klein, the co-leader of the Senate, introduced language in his preliminary budget that could lead to the creation of a gun offender registry.

“We need to make sure gun offenders don’t hide in the shadows and continue to plague our neighborhoods with crime,” Diaz said.

Editor’s note: This article was originally published in the March 7-20 print edition of the Norwood News.

Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. proposed a gun offender registry during his fourth State of the Borough speech last month. (Photo courtesy Bronx Borough President’s office)