| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 9, 2011 |
***MEDIA ADVISORY***
MAYORS AGAINST ILLEGAL GUNS AND SURVIVORS OF RECENT MASS SHOOTINGS TO URGE CONGRESS TO REFORM GUN BACKGROUND CHECK SYSTEM NEXT WEEK
Mayors Against Illegal Guns co-chairs New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino and more than 50 survivors of recent mass shootings will urge Congress to reform the national background check system for gun purchases to prevent dangerous people from obtaining firearms in testimony before the Senate Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism and at a press conference next week.
The hearing will be the first to consider flaws in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System since the January 8th mass shooting in Tucson, Arizona that left six people dead and 13 others wounded, including Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. The press conference will mark the conclusion of the National Drive to Fix Gun Checks, a nationwide campaign launched after the Tucson shooting and led by Omar Samaha, whose sister was killed in the 2007 mass shooting at Virginia Tech. The campaign featured a mobile billboard truck that held more than 50 events in 21 cities with mayors, law enforcement leaders and gun violence survivors and gathered the names of more than 350,000 Americans who are calling on Congress to improve the national do-not-sell database.
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2011
WASHINGTON, DC
| 9:00-2:00 PM | Survivors of Gun Violence Meet with Members of Congress
Various locations, United States Capitol
|
| 2:30 PM | Hearing, Senate Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism
“The Fix Gun Checks Act: Better State and Federal Compliance, Smarter Enforcement’
New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg
Pat Maisch, Tucson shooting survivor
David Cuthbertson, Assistant Director, FBI
Heather Anderson, Information Security Officer, Washington State Patrol
Dirksen Senate Office Building 226 |
| 4:00 PM | Mayors Bloomberg and Menino, Senator Charles Schumer and Survivors of Gun Violence Hold Press Conference on Fix Gun Checks Act
Dirksen Senate Office Building, alcove outside Room 212 |
| 5:00-6:30 PM | Mayors Against Illegal Guns Reception for Members of Congress, Staff and Survivors of Gun Violence
Dirksen Senate Office Building 106 |
The Fix Gun Checks Campaign
After the Tucson mass shooting, Mayors Against Illegal Guns launched the National Drive to Fix Gun Checks, a coast-to-coast billboard truck campaign calling on Congress to fix gaps in the national gun background check system that now allow criminals, domestic violence offenders, the seriously mentally ill and other prohibited purchasers to easily obtain firearms. Learn more about the campaign at www.fixgunchecks.org.
About Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition
Since its inception in April 2006, Mayors Against Illegal Guns has grown from 15 mayors to more than 600. The bipartisan coalition has united the nation’s mayors around these common goals: protecting their communities by holding gun offenders and irresponsible gun dealers accountable, demanding access to trace data that is critical to law enforcement efforts to combat illegal gun trafficking, and working with legislators to fix gaps, weaknesses and loopholes in the law that make it far too easy for criminals and other prohibited purchasers to get guns. Learn more about the coalition at www.mayorsagainstillegalguns.org
| Contact: | Mayor Bloomberg's Press Office | (212) 788-2958 |
| Mayor Menino's Press Office | (617) 635-4461 |
