Safe and Secure Communities

Congresswoman Lowey believes citizens have the basic right to live in communities free from fear and violence.   That is why she is working to:

• Advance commonsense gun safety initiatives;
   
• Protect children from predators;
   
• Eliminate drunk driving; and
   
• Ensure law enforcement officers, firefighters, and EMTs are trained and equipped to keep our community safe.

Gun Safety

Congresswoman Lowey believes individuals have the right to own firearms, but commonsense regulations are critical to keeping our community safe.  That is why she is working to:

• Reinstate permanently the federal ban on assault weapons and restrict large-capacity magazines;
   
• Prevent other states’ lax concealed carry laws from endangering New York communities;
   
• Close the gun show loophole;
   
• Mandate child safety locks on firearms; and
   
• Keep guns out of the hands of children, criminals, and those with links to terrorism.

Protecting Children From Predators

Congresswoman Lowey believes it is critical to protect children from predators and sex offenders.  That is why she:

• Supported the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act to maintain states' sex-offender registries, mandate minimum sentences for crimes against children, and require states to check criminal history before placing children in foster homes;
   
• Supports federal assistance for organizations that educate children, parents, teachers, libraries, and others on the dangers of online criminal activity and cyber-bullying;
   
• Supports granting youth-serving organizations access to the FBI’s fingerprint database to ensure individuals spending unsupervised time with children pose no threat to their safety; and
   
• Cosponsors legislation prohibiting any individual convicted of a sex crime against a minor to possess a firearm or ammunition.

Drunk Driving

Congresswoman Lowey is a leader in enacting strong laws to keep unsafe drivers off the road.  In 2000, Lowey successfully passed legislation requiring states to enact a maximum Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) level of .08 as a condition of receiving federal transportation assistance, which prompted all 50 states and the District of Columbia to implement this commonsense policy.

Congresswoman Lowey is working to further strengthen anti-drunk driving regulations, working with the family of local victim of a repeat drunk driver Burton Greene to:

• Enact minimum penalties for repeat drunk drivers; and
   
• Mandate ignition interlock devices to prevent repeat offenders from getting behind the wheel impaired.

Local Law Enforcement

Congresswoman Lowey believes it is critical to ensure police officers, firefighters, and emergency medical personnel are properly trained and equipped to prevent emergencies and respond effectively if they occur.  That is why she:

• Has helped secure more than $77 million in federal security funds for first responders in Westchester and Rockland Counties;
   
• Leads Congress in ensuring federal FEMA and Homeland Security Grants are distributed on the basis of risk to ensure high-risk areas like New York are not short-changed;
   
• Created a grant program to improve interoperability of first responder communications systems;
   
• Works to increase security of transportation networks like the airports, railways, nuclear facilities, and ports in the greater New York City area and throughout the country.