Iron Pipeline (I-95)
Interstate-95 is called the "Iron Pipeline" because it's used to smuggle guns into New York City from the South. It's believed that the term originated in Georgia.
11 October 1993, Atlanta Constitution, pg. A1:
Because of Georgia's lax gun-control laws, guns bought here are involved in an ever-increasing number of crimes in major Northern cities. They are not, for the most part, stolen guns. They are legally purchased and sent up Interstate 95's "Iron Pipeline" to cities where gun- control laws are generally tighter.
17 December 1993, Atlanta Constitution, pg. F2:
The indictments say Rahman and Karim bought more than 900 handguns and assault weapons between 1989 and 1991 and shipped them to an unlicensed gun dealer in New York.
In a separate indictment, former Atlanta resident Gregory Andrew, now of West Palm Beach, Fla., was charged with illegally shipping firearms by Federal Express from Georgia to New York, federal authorities said. The indictments are part of an ongoing effort by the ATF to stem the illegal flow of guns along Interstate 95, dubbed "the Iron Pipeline," between Atlanta and Northern cities such as New York, where laws regulating gun sales are far more strict, said Thomas Stokes, special agent in charge of the ATF's Atlanta office.
16 May 2000, New York Daily News, pg. 7:
The city's illegal gun market is booming, and authorities blame an "iron pipeline" from northwestern Georgia that enabled just one group of gunrunners to bring as many as 100 weapons here
8 May 2003, New York Times, "Shutting Down the 'Iron Pipepline,'" section A, pg. 36, col. 1:
In a Brooklyn courtroom last month, a Columbia University professor delivered a lesson in why existing gun laws do not work. The professor, Dr. Howard Andrews, testified that 90 percent of the guns recovered in New York crime investigations from 1996 to 2000 had been bought out of state. A large number came from five states with lax gun laws: Virginia, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina.
The suit in which Dr. Andrews testified, in which a ruling is expected shortly, charges gun manufacturers and dealers with doing too little to stop illegal handgun sales. His data give the fullest picture yet of the ''iron pipeline,'' in which guns are transported from Southern states. The iron pipeline is one of
the biggest factors in thwarting New York in its efforts to keep guns off the streets and out of the hands of criminals. There are ways to stop the flow.
28 March 2005, AM New York, pg. 1, cols. 2-4 headline:
THE GUN RUN
New York's Finest struggle
to shut down I-95's "Iron Pipeline"
(...)
The highway is dubbed the "Iron Pipeline because thousands of guns purchased in Georgia, Virginia, Florida and North and South Carolina travel up the coastline on that road and wind up being used in crimes in New York.
11 October 1993, Atlanta Constitution, pg. A1:
Because of Georgia's lax gun-control laws, guns bought here are involved in an ever-increasing number of crimes in major Northern cities. They are not, for the most part, stolen guns. They are legally purchased and sent up Interstate 95's "Iron Pipeline" to cities where gun- control laws are generally tighter.
17 December 1993, Atlanta Constitution, pg. F2:
The indictments say Rahman and Karim bought more than 900 handguns and assault weapons between 1989 and 1991 and shipped them to an unlicensed gun dealer in New York.
In a separate indictment, former Atlanta resident Gregory Andrew, now of West Palm Beach, Fla., was charged with illegally shipping firearms by Federal Express from Georgia to New York, federal authorities said. The indictments are part of an ongoing effort by the ATF to stem the illegal flow of guns along Interstate 95, dubbed "the Iron Pipeline," between Atlanta and Northern cities such as New York, where laws regulating gun sales are far more strict, said Thomas Stokes, special agent in charge of the ATF's Atlanta office.
16 May 2000, New York Daily News, pg. 7:
The city's illegal gun market is booming, and authorities blame an "iron pipeline" from northwestern Georgia that enabled just one group of gunrunners to bring as many as 100 weapons here
8 May 2003, New York Times, "Shutting Down the 'Iron Pipepline,'" section A, pg. 36, col. 1:
In a Brooklyn courtroom last month, a Columbia University professor delivered a lesson in why existing gun laws do not work. The professor, Dr. Howard Andrews, testified that 90 percent of the guns recovered in New York crime investigations from 1996 to 2000 had been bought out of state. A large number came from five states with lax gun laws: Virginia, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina.
The suit in which Dr. Andrews testified, in which a ruling is expected shortly, charges gun manufacturers and dealers with doing too little to stop illegal handgun sales. His data give the fullest picture yet of the ''iron pipeline,'' in which guns are transported from Southern states. The iron pipeline is one of
the biggest factors in thwarting New York in its efforts to keep guns off the streets and out of the hands of criminals. There are ways to stop the flow.
28 March 2005, AM New York, pg. 1, cols. 2-4 headline:
THE GUN RUN
New York's Finest struggle
to shut down I-95's "Iron Pipeline"
(...)
The highway is dubbed the "Iron Pipeline because thousands of guns purchased in Georgia, Virginia, Florida and North and South Carolina travel up the coastline on that road and wind up being used in crimes in New York.