Mayors Against Illegal Guns

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Fix Gun Checks: Delete Online Outlaws Urges Websites to Crack Down on Illegal Gun Sales

December 14, 2011 - In response to a new investigation by the City of New York that exposed the vast, unregulated online market for illegal guns, Mayors Against Illegal Guns launched a grassroots effort to crack down on illegal online gun sales. The investigation found that 62% of sellers were willing to sell to individuals who said they couldn’t pass a criminal background check. The coalition is urging Congress to take action to require a background check on all gun sales, and for websites to take simple steps to stop illegal sales: requiring sellers to register with the site before listing guns for sale online; requiring buyers to register with the site before contacting gun sellers; providing a simple mechanism to flag suspicious behavior; and auditing their own sites - as many sites are already doing.
Learn more
Read the coalition press release about the investigation

New Coalition Report Shows State and Federal Failures Undermine Background Check System and Allow Substance Abusers and the Mentally Ill to Buy Guns
November 14, 2011 - New Mayors Against Illegal Guns report reveals data showing that states and federal agencies fail to send millions of records to the federal firearms background check system, enabling substance abusers, the mentally ill and other dangerous individuals to pass background checks and purchase firearms.
Download the report (in PDF)
Read the press release

Mayors Oppose Concealed Gun Mandate in New Ad
October 20, 2011 - Mayors Against Illegal Guns placed a full-page ad in USA Today calling on the U.S. Senate to reject an effort to strip state authority to decide who can carry concealed, loaded guns in public. This federal mandate would threaten the safety of our communities by putting loaded guns in the hands of people who are too dangerous to qualify for a local permit.
See the USA Today Advertisement (in PDF)
Join Our Campaign at OurLivesOurLaws.org
Read the Press Release

Coalition Launches Campaign Against National Concealed Carry Reciprocity
September 12, 2011 – A coalition of more than 600 mayors has launched a campaign to defend the rights of states to decide who can carry concealed, loaded guns. The campaign website, OurLivesOurLaws.org, highlights the broad opposition to the National Right-to-Carry Act (H.R.822) from law enforcement, faith leaders, domestic violence groups, and the more than 45,000 Americans who have signed the Our Lives, Our Laws petition. A new poll, also released today, shows that voters overwhelmingly oppose Congressional efforts to override state concealed carry laws.
Read the Press Release
Download the Poll Results (in PDF)
Download the Fact Sheet for H.R. 822 (in PDF)
Sign the Petition at OurLivesOurLaws.org

Obama Administration Adopts Coalition Recommendation to Combat Illegal Gun Trafficking to Mexico
The co-chairs of Mayors Against Illegal Guns applauded the Obama Administration's implementation of a new policy that will help curb illegal gun trafficking to Mexico. The program requires gun dealers in border states to report bulk sales of the type of semi-automatic rifles preferred by Mexican drug cartels. A similar nationwide requirement for bulk handgun sales has already been in place for years. The new program is modeled on a proposal first made by Mayors Against Illegal Guns in August 2009 in its Blueprint for Federal Action on Illegal Guns.
Read the Federal Register Notice Announcing New Long Gun Reporting Requirement (in PDF)
Download the Blueprint for Federal Action of Illegal Guns (in PDF)
View the Announcement from the Department of Justice
Read the Statement from the Coalition Co-chairs on the Implementation of the New Program

Coalition Calls on President Obama to Strengthen and Better Enforce Gun Laws
On the six-month anniversary of the tragic shooting in Tucson, Mayors Against Illegal Guns issued a letter calling on President Obama to prevent criminals, terrorists, and other dangerous people from obtaining illegal guns. The coalition members offered four concrete steps the administration could take without Congressional action to better enforce existing gun laws, reminding the President that over 6,100 Americans have died from gun violence since the Tucson shooting.
Read the Letter to President Obama

Mayors Urge Repeal of Restrictions that Impede Investigation of "Fast & Furious"
Mayors Michael R. Bloomberg and Thomas M. Menino, coalition co-chairs, called on Congressional leaders to repeal the Tiahrt restrictions that are blocking Congressional oversight of the ATF's controversial "Operation Fast & Furious." ATF allegedly allowed guns to be illegally trafficked to Mexico, possibly putting law enforcement officers in danger. The Tiahrt Amendments prohibit ATF from sharing crime gun trace data. As a result, Congress has been forced to request trace data connected to the Fast & Furious investigation from the Mexican Government.
Read the Letter to Congressional Leaders

Mayors Launch TV Ad Addressing Al Qaeda Gun Plot
A coalition of more than 600 mayors has launched a national TV ad campaign calling attention to a recent Al Qaeda propaganda video that urges the terrorist group’s followers to exploit loopholes to purchase firearms without background checks. The mayors’ ad is running on national cable news programs this week. It urges Congress to pass the Fix Gun Checks Act of 2011 and the Denying Firearms to Dangerous Terrorists Act of 2011, bills pending that would close the loopholes Al Qaeda publicized.
Watch the "What Are You Waiting For?" Ad
Read the Press Release Announcing the Ad
Read the Mayor's Statement Responding to the Al Qaeda Propaganda Video

House Leaders Force Vote on Terror Gap
May 12 2011 - Today, members of the House Judiciary Committee forced a vote on an amendment that would have closed the "Terror Gap" – a flaw in our national security infrastructure that has allowed more than 1300 terror suspects to buy guns and explosives since 2004. The amendment would have given the Attorney General the discretion to block the sale of firearms and explosives to terror suspects on a case-by-case basis. The Coalition strongly supports bipartisan legislation to close this deadly loophole.
Read the Coalition’s Letter to Congress Supporting the Terror Gap Amendment (in PDF)
View a Recent Report from the GAO on the Attempts of Suspected Terrorists to Purchase Guns (in PDF)
Download an Issue Brief on the Terror Gap (in PDF)
Learn more about the Terror Gap
Read the Press Release

The Fix Gun Checks Act of 2011 is Introduced in the House of Representatives
May 6, 2011 - Yesterday members of the U.S. House of Representatives introduced the Fix Gun Checks Act of 2011 (H.R.1781). This legislation will close gaps in the national gun background system that have enabled criminals and other dangerous people – including Tucson shooter Jared Loughner – to easily obtain firearms. The bill was introduced by Rep. Carolyn McCarthy and more than two dozen other members, including Democratic National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers and Crime Subcommittee Ranking Member Bobby Scott. Senator Chuck Schumer introduced similar legislation in February. The Fix Gun Checks Act of 2011 achieves the goal President Obama set after the Tucson mass shooting, a gun background check system that is "instant, accurate, and comprehensive."
Read the Press Release Announcing the House Bill

Following President Obama's Call, Tucson Shooting Victims' Families Endorse Plan to Fix U.S. Gun Background Check System
March 28, 2011 - Arizona families, civic leaders and elected officials today gathered to endorse legislation based on the Mayors’ plan to fix the gun background check system. The press conference, in Tucson, brought together victims of the mass shooting on January 8th that killed 6 people and injured 13 others, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. Attendees included Ross Zimmerman, the father of Gabe Zimmerman, Rep. Giffords’ staff member who was killed in the shooting; James Fuller; Randy Gardner; Patricia Maisch, who prevented the shooter from reloading; Dr. Peter Rhee, chief of trauma at University Medical Center; and others. The event comes just two weeks after President Obama signaled his support for fixing background checks.
Read the Press Release

Key Members of Congress Join Mayor Bloomberg in Announcing House Version of the Fix Gun Checks Act of 2011
March 15, 2011 - Mayor Michael Bloomberg today applauded President Obama for his recent statements in support of fixing the gun background check system and closing the loopholes that enable criminals to avoid these checks; the President expressed his support in a March 13 letter written to the Arizona Daily Star. During the press conference in Washington D.C., Mayor Bloomberg was joined by New York Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy, who will introduce the Fix Gun Checks Act of 2011 in the U.S. House, other key House members from across the country.
Read the Press Release About Today's Announcement

President Obama Expresses Support for Fixing Background Checks
March 14, 2011 - In a letter to a Tucson newspaper yesterday, President Obama announced his support for an improved system to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people. The President called for an "instant, accurate, and comprehensive" background check for gun sales, stressing that dangerous individuals should not be able to avoid the background check requirement altogether. His comments add to the growing momentum behind the Mayors Against Illegal Guns Fix Gun Checks campaign, which polls show also has the support of an overwhelming majority of Americans-including gun owners.
See President Obama's Letter to the Arizona Daily Star
Read the Statement from the Coalition's Co-Chairs in Response to President Obama's Statements (in PDF)

New Polls in Five Bellwether States Show Overwhelming Support to Fix Gun Background Check System
March 2, 2011 - Mayors Against Illegal Guns today announced the results of five state polls showing that large majorities of the public - including gun owners - in five key states support closing the loopholes in the national gun background check system that now give dangerous people easy access to firearms.
Read the Press Release
View the Poll Results (in PDF)
See the Poll Questionnaire (in PDF)

February 23, 2011 - Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced new legislation to get all records of criminals, drug abusers, and the mentally ill, who are already prohibited by law from buying guns, into the background check system, and also to require background checks for every gun sale.
Read the Press Release Announcing the Senate Bill
Read the Ohio Press Release
View the Results of the Ohio Poll
View the Coalition’s Film on the 34 Lives Lost Every Day

Mayors Launch National Drive to Fix Gun Checks
February 16, 2011 - This morning, Mayor Michael Bloomberg appeared on Good Morning America to launch the National Drive to Fix Gun Checks and raise awareness of gun crime across the country. The Fix Gun Checks billboard truck started in Times Square and keeps a running toll of the numbers of the Americans murdered by guns since the tragic shooting in Tucson, Arizona. The National Drive will criss-cross at least 25 states to meet with mayors, law enforcement, faith leaders, victims of gun violence, sportsmen, and supporters over the next two months.
Read the press release announcing the tour
Learn more at www.fixgunchecks.org

America’s Mayors, Kennedy, and King Families Call on President and Congress to Act
January 25, 2011 – This morning, Mayors Against Illegal Guns joined with Martin Luther King, III and Kathleen Kennedy Townsend in sending an open letter to President Obama and Members of Congress urging them to fix the nation's criminal background check system. The letter appeared as a full page ad in the January 25th edition of the Washingon Post.
Download the Print Ad (PDF)
Take Action at www.fixgunchecks.org
Read the Mayors’ Plan to Fix Gun Checks (PDF)

Coalition Urges President and Congress to Fix the Gun Background Check System
January 24, 2011 - Today coalition co-chair Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg stood with Martin Luther King III and family members of gun violence victims to urge Congress to fulfill the intent of the historic 1968 gun law and fix the nation’s broken background check system. In conjunction with the event, Mayors Against Illegal Guns launched a new website, www.fixgunchecks.org, to call on the President and Congress to fix the background check system by (1) getting all of the names of all prohibited purchasers into the background check system and (2) requiring background checks for all gun sales.
Learn more and take action at www.fixgunchecks.org
Download the Mayors’ Plan to Fix Gun Checks (PDF)

Read the Press Release About Today's Event

An American Consensus: Keep Guns Out of Dangerous Hands
January 18 - Mayors Against Illegal Guns announced a bipartisan poll that reveals a broad consensus among Americans, including gun owners, in support of tougher laws to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous criminals. Among other findings, the survey shows that 86% of Americans and 81% of gun owners support background checks on all gun sales, and 90% of Americans and gun owners support fixing gaps in government databases that are meant to prevent the mentally ill, drug abusers and others from buying guns.
Read the Press Release Announcing the Results of the Bipartisan Poll
View the Results of the Survey
View a Presentation of the Results (PDF)

Mayors Call for Action in Wake of Tucson Arizona Shootings
The shooting that killed six people and wounded twelve others - including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords - has shocked the nation, and served as yet another reminder of the deadly gaps in the country's gun laws and enforcement practices. In the wake of this tragedy, members of Mayors Against Illegal Guns are calling for common sense solutions to help prevent the next tragedy. The mayors urge lawmakers to confirm a new ATF director, close gaps in the background check system, and improve information sharing between law enforcement agencies. This system currently prohibits drug abusers - like the Tucson shooter - and others from purchasing guns, yet dangerous individuals often fall through the cracks.
Read the Press Release
Read the statement by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, January 9, 2011 (in PDF)
Read the statement by Mayor Thomas M. Menino, January 10, 2011 (in PDF)

Coalition Urges Senate to Confirm Nominee for ATF Director
December 15 - Mayors Against Illegal Guns launched a new website, www.TopCopNow.org, to encourage the public to join the coalition's call for the Senate to confirm the nomination of Andrew Traver to lead the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). The agency, which has primary responsibility for combating illegal gun trafficking, has been left without a director for four years. During this period, over 50,000 Americans have been killed with guns. The website features an online petition for members of the public urging the Senate to confirm Traver. Learn more and take action at www.TopCopNow.org.
Read the Letter from the Coalition Urging the Senate to Confirm an ATF Director

ATF Adopts Coalition Recommendation to Curb Trafficking Across U.S.-Mexico Border
In response to high levels of illegal gun trafficking into Mexico, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF) issued a notice in the Federal Register detailing the agency’s plans to require licensed gun dealers operating in border states to report multiple sales of long guns. Mayors Against Illegal Guns recommended this strategy in the Blueprint for Federal Action on Illegal Guns, which was submitted to the Obama Administration in August 2009. The ATF’s new policy will provide law enforcement with investigative leads to help uncover the trafficking of semiautomatic assault rifles and other guns along the U.S.-Mexico border. The coalition supports the newly proposed policy.
Read the Statement from the Coalition Co-Chairs (in PDF)
Read the Federal Register Notice Announcing New Long Gun Reporting Requirement (in PDF)
Read the Facts about Long Gun Reporting (in PDF)

Coalition Releases Landmark Report: Trace the Guns
September 27 – A new report by Mayors Against Illegal Guns reveals a strong connection between weak gun laws and interstate gun trafficking. The report, which examines comprehensive crime gun trace data provided by ATF to Mayors Against Illegal Guns, finds that the states with the weakest gun laws are the top suppliers of the guns recovered in out-of-state crimes and are also the source of a greater proportion of likely trafficked guns.
Visit TraceTheGuns.org to View Interactive Maps of Interstate Gun Trafficking
Download the Full Report (in PDF)
Read the Press Release

Coalition's New Issue Brief: The Movement of Illegal Guns Across the U.S.-Mexico Border
September 7 – A new report by Mayors Against Illegal Guns reveals that Texas and other border states are the top sources of U.S. crime guns recovered in Mexico. The issue brief, which examines previously unavailable ATF data about guns recovered in Mexico and traced back to the U.S, finds that roughly 75% of the U.S. crime guns recovered in Mexico originate from the four border states - with roughly 40% originating from Texas alone. When controlling for population, three of the four border states - Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico - supply guns recovered in Mexico at a rate three times greater than the rate of the fourth border state, California. In addition, the time between the original sale of guns at U.S. gun dealers and the recovery of those guns at Mexican crime scenes is decreasing - a sign of ever more sophisticated gun trafficking.
Download the Full Issue Brief (in PDF)
Read the Press Release

Coalition Calls on Congress to Prohibit Sales of Guns and Explosives to Terror Suspects
Mayors Against Illegal Guns calls on Congress to close the Terror Gap. New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, NYPD Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly, and Los Angeles Assistant Chief Sandy Jo MacArthur testify before the U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee about the Terror Gap. A new report from the Government Accountability Office reveals that individuals on terrorist watch lists succeeded in purchasing guns and explosives over 1,100 times in the last six years.
Read the Coalition Press Release
Read the New GAO Report (in PDF)
Learn More and Take Action at www.TerrorGap.org
Visit the Coalition's Terror Gap Page

New York Mayors Call on Albany to Pass Microstamping Legislation
June 15 - New York Mayors Against Illegal Guns calls on Albany to pass microstamping legislation that would give police officers a new tool to track down gun criminals.
Learn More and Take Action at www.StampOutGunCrime.org

Coalition Launches Campaign to Close the Gun Show Loophole
Pennsylvania Mayors Against Illegal Guns launches a statewide campaign to close the Gun Show Loophole. The campaign features television advertisements airing on cable and major broadcast networks.
Read the Pennsylvania Press Release
Watch the Pennsylvania TV ad

Mayors Against Illegal Guns launches a national campaign to galvanize support for passage of legislation to close the Gun Show Loophole. The campaign features a national television advertisement which is airing in media markets across the country, and a new web site, www.CloseTheLoophole.org, featuring an online petition asking Congress to close the Gun Show Loophole.
Watch the TV ad
Read the press release
Visit the Coalition's Gun Show Loophole Page

Coalition Releases Blueprint for Federal Action
Mayors Against Illegal Guns released a Blueprint for Federal Action on Illegal Guns, a comprehensive list of 40 concrete steps the federal government can take through administrative action to better enforce existing gun laws. The report, which was sent to President Obama and key members of his administration, includes recommendations for better information-sharing among law enforcement agencies, increasing ATF resources and new focused research to combat illegal guns. If implemented, these recommendations would curb illegal gun trafficking, help stop terrorists and other dangerous persons from obtaining guns, and help to stop the flow of guns across the southwest border.
Read the Blueprint for Federal Action on Illegal Guns (in PDF)
Read the press release
Read the Cover Letter sent to the Obama Administration (in PDF)

Poll: NRA Members Support Efforts to Fight Illegal Guns
A new poll by Republican pollster Frank Luntz reveals that NRA members and other Americans who own guns strongly support a sensible approach to gun laws that balances personal freedoms with measures to keep illegal guns out of the hands of criminals. The poll finds that both NRA members and non-NRA gun owners support various reforms that the bi-partisan coalition of Mayors Against Illegal Guns has called on Congress to enact, such as proposals to fix the Terror Gap and close the gun show loophole.
Learn more
Read the press release
Download the Luntz Poll Questionnaire and Responses (in PDF)
Download the Luntz Poll Slides (in PDF)

Mayors Against Illegal Guns Expands Efforts to Close the Terror Gap
November 2009 - The coalition is expanding its efforts to close the Terror Gap in federal law, which leaves the FBI powerless to block gun sales to terror suspects. In an ad in today's Washington Post and on the companion Web site www.TerrorGap.org, the coalition calls on Congress to learn from the tragedy at Fort Hood and close the Terror Gap once and for all.
Download the ad (in PDF)
Learn more and take action at www.TerrorGap.org
Visit the coalition's Terror Gap page

OUR MISSION: Support the Second Amendment and Keep Illegal Guns Out of the Hands of Criminals
For more than three years, Mayors Against Illegal Guns has worked with law enforcement and legislators to advance a simple but powerful idea: support for Second Amendment rights goes hand-in-hand with keeping illegal guns out of the hands of criminals.

Join: Mayors interested in joining our growing coalition can contact the coalition staff here

Learn more: Visit our About the Coalition page for more information

Editorials: Read Recent Editorials About the Coalition's Purpose

Department of Justice Endorses Legislation to Block Terror Suspects from Purchasing Guns
November 2009 - During a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Attorney General Eric Holder indicated that the Department of Justice continues to support legislation to give FBI the power to block gun and explosive purchases by terror suspects. Such legislation had been drafted and endorsed by the Department of Justice during the Bush administration.
Learn more about the Terror Gap
Read the statements from the coalition co-chairs

Pennsylvania Mayors Advance Effort to Require Reporting of Lost and Stolen Guns
Mayors in Pennsylvania are leading a city-by-city and town-by-town effort to pass and enforce common sense lost and stolen gun reporting laws. In a new Mayors Against Illegal Guns video, mayors of some of the Pennsylvania cities and towns with new lost and stolen explain why lost and stolen reporting laws are a critical public safety measure.
Learn more and watch the video

Mayors and Police Chiefs Unite to Protect Public Safety Laws
Mayors across the country have helped defeat legislation in the U.S. Senate that would have interfered with the right of states to control their own public safety laws. The Thune Amendment would have forced law enforcement to recognize concealed carry permits issued by every other state, including states with the weakest rules. Mayors Against Illegal Guns does not take a position on the general issue of concealed carry. Instead, the coalition believes each state should have the right to use its own judgment in deciding how to grant concealed carry permits.
Learn More
Read the statements from the coalition co-chairs
Read the letter from the IACP
Read the letter from the Major Cities Chiefs

Wal-Mart Joins Coalition to Form the Responsible Firearms Retailer Partnership
The coalition has formed a landmark partnership with Wal-Mart - the nation's largest firearms retailer - that includes a 10-point voluntary code that will help ensure that prohibited buyers are not able to acquire guns.
Learn more about the Responsible Firearms Retailer Partnership
Read the press release

FULL COALITION