We've talked about gun violence for three weeks now. And one of the most interesting suggestions offered to combat it, is to raise the minimum prison sentence for carrying a loaded weapon. Is three years, six months an effective deterrent? Apparently not. But filling the jails with more criminals doesn't get to the root of the problem. Although it would make the streets safer...

Sergeant Craig Bier left Jamaica Hospital today, less than two days after being shot in both legs while chasing a suspect in Queens. A reward for information leading to the capture of 24-year-old John Thomas is now $32,000. Authorities say Thomas has 17 prior arrests.

On his morning radio show, Mayor Bloomberg said New York State has the toughest gun laws in the country, but more needs to be done on the federal level. Bloomberg said he wants to see microstamping technology adopted so bullets can be traced to person who originally purchased the gun. The Mayor said, "No one has a rational argument against it." Do you agree?

Do you support an effort to microstamp bullets so they are traceable? What would be a "rational argument" against it? What's your reaction to the suspect in the shooting of Sgt. Bier having 17 prior arrests?

If you would like the First Word on this topic, let us know. And if you have a suggestion for tonight's Snap Poll, send it along. Be sure to include three possible answers.

Send your thoughts using the link above.

I am happy to know that the Sergeant is ok. I do hope Bloomie will do his utmost to find that man who shot Sergeant Bier and when found, I would like to see justice by putting him behind bars for the rest of his life.

Ruthann
Queens

The Mayor has been on this technology kick lately it seems, too bad it is mostly worthless and for show. Like their idea for all those surveillance cameras in the city that ignores the fact that many places in the outer boroughs don't even have sufficient street lights, micro-stamping bullets is another attack on a windmill by Bloomberg. First off wasn't there already a discussion about having some high-tech system that wouldn't allow a gun to fire without fingerprint recognition, how far did that get? A smart man like Bloomberg can't be naive enough to think other businessmen like himself would ever cut into their profits if they don't have to, that goes against the religion of greed and Capitalism that he shares with them.

As for the practical reasons it really won't work, first off they can already match a bullet to a gun it's called ballistics. Collecting either missed shots or bullets out of victims and tracking it to a gun still doesn't deter anything after the fact. Second just like guns get stolen (or at least reported stolen), ammo will come up missing too and really does nobody any good if the gun and ammo are used in another state. Third, people can make bullets with a little know-how and scrap metal not unlike what the city sells in bulk to whoever bids the highest for it. And last but not least, just like the calls for closing down gun manufacturers seems to ignore, guns are made all over the world and so are bullets. Glocks, Berettas, Uzi's, and the popular AK-47 come from all different corners of the world. And just like they can't stop all the cocaine and heroin that help drive the need for illegal guns, the people who traffic in those items will still get their guns from the same sources. At the end of the day until there is a practical effort to cut down on the reasons and motivations behind gun violence and the need to have a gun legal or not, knowing where a bullet came from is not going to help someone who is either maimed or dead.

RL
The Bronx

here is one that his royal highness bloomberg started that even I Agree with get tough on Guns

let me drink a big gulp
JIM
UWS

John,

Did it ever or will it ever occur to Bloomberg that anything and everything can be stolen and even then show up in the hands of the innocent? If manufactures stop making guns altogether, does he really think crime will stop? When I was a kid, I made a gun that shot 22 caliber bullets. I also owned then and now a machete. Either in the wrong hands could injure or kill.

Just how big is the bunch of straw the Mayor is so desperately grasping at?

Joe
Port Richmond, SI

Hi John,

I'm so happy to hear that Sergeant Craig Bier has left the hospital. I really wish him well. A speedy recovery for sure. [FROM THE BRONX] = WE APPRECIATE THE DANGEROUS WORK YOU DO EVERYDAY THAT YOU GUYS AND GALS ARE OUT THERE.

LISTEN I HAVE REACHED THE POINT THAT I CAN NO LONGER LISTEN TO THIS ADMINISTRATION AND GOD HELP US IF THEY DON'T GET AN OUTSIDER TO RUN FOR MAYOR SO THAT WE WILL FINALLY WILL BE RID OF ALL OF THESE INCOMPETENT DO NOTHINGS. THIS MAYOR IS NOW TALKING ABOUT CHIPS SO THAT WE WILL BE ABLE TO TRACE THE GUNS THROUGH THE BULLETS. HELLO, WAKE UP SIR IT'S THE ILLEGAL GUNS THAT SHOULD BE CONFISCATED IMMEDIATELY. YOU SHOULD GO OUT AND WALK THE BEAT WITH SOME COPS JUST TO SEE HOW DIFFICULT IT IS.

Thank you John,
maxxiee
mp

IT'S GOOD FOR MORALE. GOD BLESS FOR HIS RECOVERY AND ATTITUDE. SORRY, TO HAVE TO REPORT MAYOR BLOOMBERG IS HAVING ANOTHER SENIOR MOMENT, PLEASE STAY WITH US UNTIL WE CAN ADJUST HIS ATTITUDE.

LET'S GO TO PLAN "B": NYPD OFFICERS NEED TO GET THEMSELVES TO THE SHOOTING RANGE. IT IS JUST STUPID, WHEN REPORTING THOSE ENGAGED IN A HUNDRED ROUNDS AND THERE IS NO INJURY, NOT EVEN A HANG NAIL, IS VERY UNREAL. AT BEST, THOSE GUN SHOOTING PARTICIPANTS DID SO WITH THEIR EYES CLOSED.

CARMELITA.....................HARLEM

Microstamping, ammunition taggants, and other measures designed to trace illegally used firearms to their sources do not compromise second amendment rights because, once a weapon is used in a crime, it becomes, not only evidence, but contraband, and, while the process of seizing it may be subject to constitutional limitations, there is no longer any constitutionally protected right to keep it or bear it. But establishing a weapon's “powder trail” is just the beginning.

In a sane and civilized society, not only should guns be registered and owners screened and licensed, but these owners should be required to undergo periodic training and testing, and they should be required to post an insurance bond for each firearm owned so as to indemnify the public against the consequences of the weapons' use or misuse. And if a gun is lost or stolen, the licensed owner must be required to immediately notify regulatory authorities, if only to protect himself from further liability, and the gun should then be deemed contraband and subject to confiscation, whether or not subsequently used in a crime. It boggles the mind that we can locate the owners of stolen and abandoned cars more easily than we can the owners of guns used in crimes.

Whether or not guns kill people, bullets do, so let's regulate the sale and possession of bullets as well, restricting them solely to licensed firearms owners and to the calibers of the weapons registered to them. And, finally, if gun laws are to have any deterrent or punitive effect on armed felons, sentences for the use of a weapon in a crime must run consecutively with those imposed for the original crime, and judges must be encouraged to throw away the key on violent repeat offenders.

As for those “originalist” gun nuts who still believe, erroneously, that the constitution authorizes a society of gun-toting vigilantes masquerading as civilian “militias,” perhaps the courts should limit the protections of the second amendment to the kinds of single-shot, cap and ball weaponry known to the founding fathers, and let modern law enforcement regulate the possession and use of the sidearms of mass destruction in use today.

BIG ANDY
Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn

Microstamping of bullets will only embarrass the mayor and the NYPD as they realize that the bullet shells they are selling are traced back to those sold to the city

Francisco (upper west side)

How about changing the horrid music kids listen too?

MZ
Richmond Hill NY

Micro stamping on the gun just wouldnt work. What happens when a firearm is being maintenance and upgraded with after market parts the mirco stamping would be void. Micro stamping is just a smack in the face reactive response to the increase of of shootings. What the this do to the tens of thousands of firearms in the streets today? NOTHING! We need to in make the law 7 years for carrying, 3 for a bullet in the chamber, and 1 for every bullet in the clip.

Anthony B.
Far Rockaway

Guns are not the problem, policing is not the problem. The problem is with the justice system. If someone can commit 17 crimes and still walk the streets we have a failure of the justice system.

N.

That suspect should have been locked up a long time ago. What are these parents doing to turn out trash like that?!?! It all starts in the home with your upbringing.

Anonymous

Tougher laws are not the answer. Feeding the prison industry Is not the anwser

G.

There is nothing for kids to do. No summer jobs, no activities. They are out on the corners hanging which usually ends in trouble. We really need to look at the source of the problems.

K from Hollis

Nys needs to reinstate the death penalty and make minimum jail times longer for weapons or drug related crimes. Maybe implement a 3 strike policy like in California also.

Victor

The ATF did a study showing that 82% of all guns used in crimes in New York State came from other states. That means that OUR gun-laws are working, and ALL other states' need to replicate our gun laws. If they do that, watch gun-crimes drop dramatically nationwide.

-Dan

Wat can we do to stop copz from rapin robbn and murderin kids and we need to stop convicting people before trial

Anonymous

The stop and frisk program should be geared towards those that really fit the profile of illegal activity. ie: Gang related colors, hanging out on corners or in front of bodegas.
The problem with these young individuals with guns started when they made a law where the parents would be arrested for beating their kids. There is a difference between abuse and discipline and discipline needs to be brought back into our homes to guide our kids in the right direction.

Martin

The Second Amendment protects the right to bear arms because the Founders thought it necessary for upholding a free state. That is what the text says. Yet, if you talk to all these gun aficionados, they have a lot of anger against governments, often because they curtail individual freedom to discriminate. It's contributed to a society in which massacres have become regular and common, and I still hear people complain that "this is not the time to talk about gun control".

Next time someone kills 12 with a knife in the United States, wake up me from this madness.

Gnostradamus

Once again I agree with the Mayor. Microstamping technology should be used nationwide. If we can track food or brand products for health and safety recalls then why not bullets. There is not one single gun shop in Jamaica Queens that I know of. Where did this 24 year old thug who has had 17 prior arrest get a gun from?

shaking my head

Adelin, Jamaica Queens