The data is clear: Where there are more guns, there are more gun deaths.

Yet here we are, on the heels of two more mass shootings in this country, wondering when our shared right to public safety- when our lives- will finally matter more than ensuring easy access to firearms.

The answer, unfortunately, is not anytime soon. With lives literally at stake, we cannot relent in the struggle against gun violence.

The most powerful tool at my disposal in getting illegal guns and those who use them off our streets is prosecution. In 2019, before I took office, there were 549 firearms and weapons-related dispositions in Queens. Last year, in contrast, there were 979.

I have also sponsored gun buyback events that have recovered more than 400 guns. Every gun surrendered in a buyback program represents a life potentially saved.

i recently joined my fellow district attorneys in the Bronx, Brooklyn and Manhattan in the ongoing litigation over New York's Concealed Carry Improvement Act (CCIA). Just as the data is clear that where there are more guns there are more gun deaths, it is equally clear that stricter gun laws are linked to fewer gun deaths.

My top priority will always be keeping you and your loved ones safe.

In Friendship,

It is never too late for justice. If you have information about the tragic death of Efrain Vargas in his Woodhaven apartment, let authorities know.

Today is International Holocaust Remembrance Day, marking the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in 1945. The formidable pull of hatred is still a threat. We must never forget the six million Jewish people killed during the genocide perpetrated by the Nazi regime and their collaborators. We must be a light against the darkness of antisemitism, homophobia and racism. Ordinary people stood up then to challenge injustice and defend the vulnerable. We must do the same today. Report bias-motivated crimes to our Hate Crimes Bureau, at (718) 286-7010.

I was honored to ring in the Year of the Rabbit at the annual Lunar New Year Parade in Flushing. This celebratory event brings families together to mark the endurance of tradition and the hope for new beginnings.

Our Human Trafficking Bureau held a webinar this week to discuss the warning signs of human trafficking and the resources we offer to victims, regardless of their immigration status. If you are a victim of sex trafficking, do not hesitate to contact our prosecutors and service providers. You will not be prosecuted. Contact us, at (718) 286-6548 or humantrafficking@queensda.org.