By: Krug Stillo

Jack Schlossberg, the grandson of President John F. Kennedy and a Democratic candidate for Congress, is floating a new proposal aimed at cracking down on gun violence by financially punishing states with lax firearm laws whose weapons end up at New York crime scenes — a plan the New York Post first reported.

Schlossberg, 32, who is running to represent Manhattan’s 12th Congressional District currently held by Rep. Jerry Nadler, says his idea would impose monetary penalties on states that fail to implement tougher background checks, only to see guns purchased there later recovered in New York criminal investigations. The money collected would then be redirected to federal law enforcement agencies under what he has dubbed the “Ricochet Rule,” according to the Post.

“We’re not saying anything about the Second Amendment,” Schlossberg told the New York Post, stressing that his proposal is framed around enforcement and accountability rather than gun bans. “There’s an illegal flow of guns into states across the country from a couple states with weaker gun laws. We should at least have a penalty to make sure we can fund enforcement of this common-sense idea.”

As the New York Post reported, Schlossberg said the plan was driven by what he described as a growing gun crisis in New York, particularly New York City, where strict local gun laws coexist with a steady influx of weapons from elsewhere.

“We’re calling it the ‘Ricochet Rule’ because guns ricochet into New York from other states — but accountability should as well,” he said, according to the Post. Schlossberg argued that while New York has some of the strongest gun laws in the nation, those safeguards are undermined when firearms are easily purchased in other states and trafficked across state lines.

Under his proposal, states that account for a “disproportionate number” of guns recovered at New York crime scenes would be fined. Those funds would then be funneled to the Department of Justice and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to bolster investigations and enforcement, Schlossberg told the New York Post.

The idea draws on existing federal data. Between 2017 and 2021, New York authorities recovered 27,407 guns connected to crimes. Of those, 21,863 had crossed state lines, according to ATF statistics cited by the Post. Even more striking, 68% of those out-of-state guns originated in states that do not require background checks for firearm purchases.

Schlossberg acknowledged that the exact size of the proposed penalties has not yet been determined, but said they would need to be substantial enough to force cooperation from states with weaker gun regulations, the New York Post reported.

“It would have to be significant enough to incentivize them,” he said.

Critics are likely to argue that the proposal unfairly targets states for crimes committed elsewhere, while supporters say it highlights the national nature of gun trafficking and violence. Schlossberg, however, insists the status quo is unacceptable.

“I think we should be trying to do something about this problem, not just when it’s in the news,” he told the New York Post.