#NEVERAGAIN

Adopted at the 86th%20Annual%20Meeting in 2018

  • WHEREAS, on February 14, 2018, 17 people were killed and 17 more were wounded at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, by a shooter armed with an AR-15-style semiautomatic rifle; and

    WHEREAS, on May 18, 2018, 10 people were killed and 13 were wounded at Santa Fe High School in Santa Fe, Texas, by a student using a shotgun and .38 caliber pistol that belonged to his father; and

    WHEREAS, while mass shootings garner much public and media attention, the daily toll of gun-related deaths on the streets of our cities is generally much higher: on average, 34 Americans are murdered with guns every day and 151 are treated for a gun assault in an emergency room; and

    WHEREAS, led and inspired by the Parkland students, the #NeverAgain movement was formed and 856 March for Our Lives events were held in Washington DC and around the world on March 24, bringing out millions of people; and

    WHEREAS, as a result of the actions by the Parkland students and other young people throughout the country, we are at a moment in time in which we may be able to enact meaningful gun safety legislation, both in our states and at the national level; and

    WHEREAS, the U.S. Conference of Mayors has a 50-year history of formally adopting and aggressively promoting strong policies to reduce gun violence, all consistent with its support for the Second Amendment to the Constitution; among those policies:
    Strengthening the Regulation of Gun Sales and Dealers, including:
    • Limiting the number of guns a person may purchase in a single transaction or in a month or other specified period of time;
    • Banning replica handguns;
    • Increasing inspections of licensed gun dealers; and
    • Targeting and holding responsible gun dealers who break the law by knowingly selling guns to straw purchasers;

    Banning Assault Weapons and Large-Capacity Magazines, including:
    • Reinstating a strengthened, effective ban on military-style assault weapons, such as AK-47s, and their component parts; and
    • Banning large capacity ammunition feeding devices and the importation of all large capacity ammunition clips.

    Supporting Local Efforts to Reduce and Combat Gun Crimes, including:
    • Opposing concealed carry reciprocity policies and legislation that would circumvent city policies established to protect residents;
    • Providing local governments and law enforcement officials access to ATF gun trace data;
    • Opposing "Stand Your Ground"? or "Shoot First"? laws and urging state legislatures that have adopted such laws to repeal them; and
    • Encouraging mayors to take executive actions to combat gun violence and illegal use and trafficking of guns;

    Protecting Young People, including:
    • Opposing proposals to allow teachers and other non-law enforcement, non-security personnel to carry firearms in K-12 schools;
    • Raising the youth handgun ban from 18 to 21 years of age;
    • Banning juvenile possession of semiautomatic assault rifles; and

    Holding gun owners criminally liable when children gain access to improperly stored guns.
    • Protecting Domestic Violence Victims, including:
    • Prohibiting persons convicted of domestic violence crimes or subject to final domestic violence restraining orders from acquiring or possessing firearms; and
    • Requiring prohibited domestic abusers to turn in firearms they already own; and


    WHEREAS, included in these policies are the actions the Parkland students are calling for; among them: universal, comprehensive background checks; a ban on assault weapons; and a ban on high-capacity magazines,

    NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that The U.S. Conference of Mayors stands with the students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and all other young people and adults committed to seeing reasonable gun safety policies become reality and to reducing gun violence in our cities; and

    BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the U.S. Conference of Mayors pledges to redouble its efforts, working with the Parkland students, and others, to see reasonable national gun safety legislation enacted in Washington as quickly as possible.
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