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Resolutions Adopted at the
67th Annual Conference of Mayors
New Orleans, Louisiana
June 11-15, 1999 |
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CRIMINAL AND SOCIAL JUSTICE
IMMEDIATE ACTION ON COMPREHENSIVE GUN SAFETY
LEGISLATION
WHEREAS, The U.S. Conference of Mayors has a 30-year history of supporting
legislation to reduce gun violence and gun-related criminal activity; and
WHEREAS, long before the tragic school shootings in Conyers (GA), at Columbine
High School in Colorado, and in West Paducah (KY), Jonesboro (AR), Edinboro (PA),
Springfield (OR), and Pearl (MS) it was clear to the nation’s mayors that a
comprehensive package of gun safety measures was needed; and
WHEREAS, in 1995 alone, firearms killed no children 0-19 years old in Japan, 19
in Great Britain, 57 in Germany, 109 in France, 153 in Canada, and 5,285 in the United
States; and
WHEREAS, the rate of firearm deaths among children 0-14 years old is nearly 12
times higher in the United States than in 25 other industrial countries combined; and
WHEREAS, the unintentional firearm related death rate for children 0-14 years
old is nine times higher in the United States than in the other 25 countries combined; and
WHEREAS, over the past year, the Conference has worked through its Gun Violence
Task Force to identify a number of key legislative priorities; and
WHEREAS, the Conference’s National Action Plan on School Violence and
Kids from 2:00 to 8:00pm, adopted at our National Summit in Salt Lake City on
September 24, 1998, calls for immediate action on a comprehensive list of gun safety
measures; and
WHEREAS, it is essential that we reduce access to guns by unintended users
– particularly children – and reduce the illegal secondary market for weapons
which is responsible for so much violence in cities of all sizes; and
WHEREAS, the Administration has endorsed a broad package of gun safety
initiatives including many of the priorities supported by mayors; and
WHEREAS, Congress is currently debating juvenile justice legislation,
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that Congress take immediate action to pass a
broad package of gun safety initiatives including the following:
A national "one handgun per month" limitation to reduce illegal straw
purchases and the secondary market for handguns;
Elimination of the federal gun show loophole to cut sales of weapons to youth and others
prohibited by state and federal law from purchasing weapons;
Mandatory child safety locks for all guns sold;
Substantial funding for the development of personalized handguns so that they can only
be discharged by their rightful owners;
A requirement that gun owners be held criminally liable for children who gain access to
improperly stored guns;
Re-establishment of the cooling-off period originally contained in the Brady Law by
creating a three to five-day waiting period for the purchase of a handgun;
Extension of the Brady Law to violent juveniles past their 21st birthdays;
Extension of the Brady Law’s background checks to purchases of explosives;
An increase in the youth handgun ban from 18 to 21 years of age;
A ban against the juvenile possession of semiautomatic assault rifles;
Increased penalties for transferring guns to juveniles;
Allowance for law enforcement to trace all firearms used in crimes, including guns sold
on the secondary market, and increased support for the Youth Crime Gun Interdiction
Initiative;
Increased support for federal prosecutions of gun-related felonies;
Increased safety standards for guns, the only commercial product specifically exempted
from coverage by the Consumer Product Safety Commission;
Increased penalties for gun kingpins;
Increased inspections of licensed gun dealers to reduce illegal trafficking; and
A ban on the importation of all large capacity ammunition clips.
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