Bronx politician pushes for gun-crime registry

These are some of the 55 weapons surrendered at a gun buyback in Staten Island.

A Bronx politician is pushing for a registry that would track criminals much as the state’s sex offender registry tracks offenders.

Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr., made the suggestion in his State of the Borough address yesterday.

“Law-abiding citizens ought to know who among us is responsible for gun violence,” Diaz said.

He proposed an online registry featuring criminals convicted of crimes involving a gun. They would have to update the police about where they live and work and stay on the registry for 10 years.

Criminals would also need to get their photograph taken every three years at a police agency.

Failure to do any of these would be a felony under his proposal.

Diaz said he would lobby state legislators starting this month to build the legislation.

He joins other New York politicians who have pushed for stiffer gun policies.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg has been an aggressive advocate for getting illegal guns of the streets.

In his State of the City this month, he urged people to contact their Congressional representatives to push for gun legislation. He credited attacking illegal guns with reducing crimes.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo also pushed for gun legislation that closes loopholes in New York’s state laws, already among some of the most stringent in the nation.