By Susan Jarvis
June 19, 2006

“Preventing gun violence,” began Paul Helmke, President of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, former mayor of Fort Wayne, and Past President of the Conference of Mayors, “should be a unifying and bipartisan issue aimed at creating common sense solutions.” The prevention of gun violence is a safety and public health issue, and it needs mayors. Mayors are dealing with the police departments, the neighborhoods and the people affected by gun violence.

Common sense solutions to ending gun violence, according to Helmke, are not about affecting the gun culture of sportsmen and hunters; they are about enforcing and implementing laws that keep illegal guns off the streets and out of our neighborhoods. Mayors have always been involved in the prevention of gun violence. Most recently, The United States Conference of Mayors has lent its support to the Brady Bill, the assault weapons ban, and the crime bill of the 1990’s. “Mayors have stood with our police chiefs and others in the community against gun violence,” said Helmke.

While the issue has been on the back burner nationally for some time, mayors are again speaking out. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has begun a crack down on the sale of illegal guns and using the justice system to punish offenders. Bloomberg is suing out of state gun shops that illegally sold handguns used in New York City crimes. Bloomberg and Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino also sponsored a recent mayors’ meeting on this issue, with a second meeting being planned.

Helmke concluded by asking mayors to recommit to preventing gun violence, by signing onto a Statement of Principles and by adopting a resolution that advocates for the punishment of those involved in illegal gun sales. Helmke asked for the mayors’ help in opposing efforts aimed at restricting the access of cities to trace data, and in supporting new technology, which could make it possible to trace every bullet or create a system ensuring only the legal gun owner can fire the weapon.

Finally, Helmke encouraged mayors to support local, state and federal legislation that targets illegal guns. “We need to stand for enforcing the laws and show that cities care about making their community safer,” concluded Helmke. “This issue is too important . . . not to find common sense solutions to prevent gun violence.”

During the Business Session on June 5, the Conference adopted Resolution 37 in support of efforts to prevent illegal guns.