Washington, D.C. – Today, President Joe Biden announced an executive order to reduce gun violence and protect public safety, including numerous priorities of the U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM). In response, below is a statement from Tom Cochran, USCM CEO and Executive Director:
“We applaud the President’s action today to reduce gun violence by using all available laws and authorities through an all-of-government approach. His Executive Order strengthens the background check system to the maximum extent possible under the law, takes actions to hold the gun industry accountable, promotes awareness and the use of red flag and safe storage laws, and speeds implementation of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. It will make our cities safer.
“Mayors remain steadfast: We cannot accept the level of gun violence we face in this nation. Today’s action is further evidence that we have a strong partner in the White House to meet this goal, and we pledge to continue working together to promote public safety and combat gun violence.
“While the President is doing everything possible he can under the law to reduce gun violence, we again call on Congress to pass common sense gun legislation to strengthen our background check system and ban semi-automatic assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.”
The United States Conference of Mayors and its members have strongly supported sensible gun safety legislation and policies since 1968. For a list of the Conference’s actions and stances, see here.