Mayors and police chiefs came to Washington on September 9 -- proclaiming 9-9-99 as Gun Safety Day.  Conference President and Denver Mayor Wellington E. Webb proposed the event to the nation's mayors and they rallied with him at The White House and on Capitol Hill.  Mayor Webb, on September 8, released a report listing the names of 544 Americans killed by gunfire in 44 cities.  Conference staff worked with report authors former USCM staffers Laura Waxman and Mike Brown to complete the report.  At the press conference a "wall of the dead" was presented which resembles the Vietnam Wall commemorating the thousands of Americans we lost in the Vietnam war.

President Clinton addressed the mayors and chiefs after Mayor Webb introduced him.  Mayor Webb cited the 1994 coalition we put together to pass the crime bill.  He invited the faith community, the Council of Churches to be with us and we had the ministers there praying with us at every stop over the two days of activities.

On Capitol Hill, scores of Members joined Mayor Webb and his coalition.  Mayor Webb continues to emphasize the need for Congress to adopt the gun safety provisions as contained in the Senate-passed bill.  Senator Edward Kennedy, who has lost two brothers to gunfire, praised Mayor Webb for his leadership.

The thrust of this meeting -- all our efforts -- centered on the legislation pending before Congress, and, most importantly to many assembled here, is establishing a background check for purchases at gun shows.  Recent cases show criminals and kids are being denied purchases at gun stores but the loophole occurs when people sell guns to just anyone including persons with a background of criminal behavior or underage youths.

Special thanks, praise, and credit goes to Ed Somers, Assistant Director of The Conference, for Gun Safety Day 9-9-99.  Without Ed's brilliant team effort, consensus building and follow through, Mayor Webb's vision would not have been implemented.

As US Mayor goes to press and Hurricane Floyd hits our cities on the east coast, a news bulletin hits the TV screen and another shooting in another city is brought into our homes.  This time it's Fort Worth, Texas.  It's not a school.  It's in a church on Wednesday night.  Children come to a sacred place on a week night to sing and they are gunned down.  No place in America is safe from gunfire anymore.  Throughout the history of the world it was the church that was a safe place, a place where even in war-torn countries the church was safe.  But in our country in 1999, innocent children singing together on a Wednesday night in a church are gunned down.  Nine more Americans will be listed from Forth Worth will go on our wall of the dead.  And we know the gun violence will not stop.  Congress knows this too.  The American people are with the Mayors and Police Chiefs on this issue of gun safety.  We continue to wonder how much more it is going to take, how many more beautiful and innocent children will be gunned down before Congress enacts some common sense gun safety measures to help the mayors and the police chiefs who are on the front line every day witnessing and facing death and attending funerals.

Mayor Morial Takes A Bride

In the St. Louis Cathedral on historic Jackson Square in New Orleans, Mayor Marc Morial, a Roman Catholic, and TV anchor Michelle Miller, a Baptist, were married in the closest to a royal wedding of majestic splendor that one has ever seen in America.  Thousands came and many stood behind barricades as Ms. Miller entered the Cathedral in a sequined wedding gown with a train that followed three rows of pews behind her.  Former Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young, an ordained minister, New Orleans native and former Ambassador to The United Nations, officiated along with Father Harry Tompson.  Following the wedding, thousands came to the Ernest Morial Convention Center to be part of this special occasion.  At the Convention Center, Ambassador Young consecrated  the union of the Mayor and TV newswoman for citizens of New Orleans unable to get into the Church.  Then afterwards there was another sit down dinner for invited guests at the English Turn Country Club.  The Mayor took his princess on a secret honeymoon but he will be with us at our Denver Leadership Meeting next week.  Mayors attending the wedding were Detroit Mayor Dennis Archer, Lynn Mayor Pat McManus and North Little Rock Mayor Patrick Henry Hays.

Denver Leadership Meeting September

Mayor Webb's goal in Denver -- - along with our USCM leadership, NLC leadership, NACo leadership and other groups - is to forge a new document reflecting local government policy initiative for the 2000 Congressional and Presidential campaign season.  In addition, there will be a summit with our own Mayors' Business Council and the last day of our meeting, Saturday, will be devoted to a strategy discussion of what we plan to do as we enter the national campaigns for Congress and The White House.  Local governments, cities and counties, have a more powerful constituency on all political fronts than we had in 1992.  Mayor Webb's position is that "good policy is good politics."  Good common sense policy is what we will be looking for in Denver.  Today, the polls show that Americans are placing our issues at the top and in Denver, we will be working on as Webb says, "putting a face on these issues."   The candidates talk of sprawl in a way that many average Americans can't understand how the issue relates to him her, or their families.  And then some candidates don't talk at all -- -  also maybe because they are scared of our issues.  We must present our case in a common sense fashion, with less academic and "wonk" language.  And we must have the polls done to show what we know, that the American people are with us on our issues this campaign season.  This is why we need you in Denver.  It is a milestone meeting since it is the place where we will leave to go forward into the Congressional campaign, the Presidential primaries and general election, with a message and constituency that will enable local government leaders to be the political players.  Our elected officials will be armed with a strong common sense political policy, backed up by an active constituency to help us continue to make our metropolitan areas economically stronger and better places for Americans to live.  I look forward to seeing you in Denver this week.