Follows Meeting with White House Officials and Letter Signed by Almost 300 Mayors – Republicans and Democrats – Calling for Senate to Address Gun Violence
WASHINGTON, D.C. – TODAY at 4:30 p.m. EDT, a bipartisan group of mayors, including the mayors of Dayton, Ohio, Pittsburgh, PA and Parkland, FL, and police chiefs will hold a press conference in the U.S. Capitol, calling for action on universal background check legislation. Led by the U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) President, Rochester Hills (MI) Mayor Bryan Barnett, who has led the Conference’s work on gun violence prevention, the bipartisan group is in Washington to meet with senior White House officials and U.S. Senators.
Already in 2019, there have been over 250 mass shootings in the U.S., including most recently in Odessa and Midland, TX. Mayors are on the front lines of the gun violence epidemic and sent a letter last month signed by almost 300 Republican and Democratic mayors demanding legislative action from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY).
For over five decades, the U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) has been vocal on the issue of gun violence prevention. Mayors passed a series of resolutions to address this crisis at the USCM’s 87th Annual Meeting this summer.
WHO:
- Bryan K. Barnett, Mayor of Rochester Hills (MI), USCM President
- Greg Fischer, Mayor of Louisville (KY), USCM Vice President
- Nan Whaley, Mayor of Dayton (OH), USCM Second Vice President
- Steve Benjamin, Mayor of Columbia (SC), immediate past USCM President
- Elizabeth Kautz, Mayor of Burnsville (MN), past USCM President
- Francis X. Suarez, Mayor of Miami (FL)
- Christine Hunschofsky, Mayor of Parkland (FL)
- John Giles, Mayor of Mesa (AZ)
- Betsy Price, Mayor of Fort Worth (TX)
- William Peduto, Mayor of Pittsburgh (PA)
- Art Acevedo, Houston Police Chief, President of Major Cities Chiefs Association
- Charles Ramsey, Former Police Chief of Washington, DC & Philadelphia, USCM Advisor
- Ed Kraus, Fort Worth Police Chief
- Tom Cochran, USCM CEO & Executive Director
WHEN:
Monday, September 9, 4:30 p.m. EDT
WHERE:
U.S. Capitol Visitor Center
Room HVC-201AB
Q&A:
Speakers will be available for questions following the press conference
RSVP:
Interested Media should contact Sara Durr at sdurr@usmayors.org