Nation's Mayors Call on House of Representatives to Pass Meaningful Gun Safety Legislation and Resist NRA-Backed Efforts to Significantly Weaken Senate-Passed Provisions
Meeting in New Orleans, mayors from across the nation called on the
House of Representatives to pass meaningful gun safety legislation, and
resist NRA-backed efforts to significantly weaken Senate-passed
provisions.
In a letter signed by over 100 mayors, the Conference called on House
Speaker Dennis Hastert (IL) to approve a rule which allowed for an open
and meaningful debate, and to support legislation which, as a minimum,
included:
- Those provisions relating to gun safety which were included in
S.254 as it passed the Senate, along with "clarifications" to the Senate
language which would address some problems contained in the legislation,
such as setting minimum standards for gun safety devices and specifying
the kind of conduct necessary to protect the users of such devices from
civil liability;
- A strong provision relating to background checks at gun shows,
one which closes existing loopholes rather than opening new ones;
- A provision which raises the age for both purchasing and
possessing a handgun from 18 to 21;
- A national one-gun-a-month provision to reduce illegal straw
purchases and the secondary market for guns;
- Reinstatement of a reasonable "cooling-off" period between the
time an individual purchases and takes possession of a gun; and
- Substantial funding for the development of personalized "smart"
guns.
The letter emerged from a meeting of the Gun Violence Task Force, which
was co-chaired by Mayors Clarence Harmon of St. Louis and Scott L. King
of Gary. During a press conference following the meeting, Mayor King
stated that the objective is to "put faces on gun violence statistics"
and say, "enough is enough."
In expressing serious concern with reports that the House would be
watering down the Senate-passed bill, New Orleans Mayor Marc Morial
said, "we want a meaningful bill with teeth, not just good copy for
members of the House."
Arlington Heights Mayor Arlene Mulder stated, "This is not about gun
control, its about gun safety."
