By Grayson Kamm
First Coast News

WASHINGTON, DC -- At a summit of mayors, Mayor John Peyton admitted to his colleagues that Jacksonville leads the state in murder rate, and leads the nation in police shootings. But, he says that gives us a unique power to call for change.

The remarks came at the yearly summit of the Mayors Against Illegal Guns coalition in Washington, DC. Members of that group, including New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, came to Jacksonville last month to shape their strategy to fight violent crime.

Because of Jacksonville's unfortunate place at the top of the murder rate and police shooting charts, Peyton argued that these issues impact the city more than anywhere else in America. And, in his eyes, illegal guns are a key part of the problem.

"We noticed, in Jacksonville, that when we really started peeling layers of the onion back, that many of the folks that were wreaking havoc in our community, quite frankly, were using guns that were purchased illegally," Peyton said to a crowd of reporters and fellow mayors.

Flanked by some of the 300 mayors in the coalition, Peyton led the call for four big changes to the nation's gun laws.

"Let's put laws in place that make it easier for responsible citizens to have guns, but not easier for criminals to have guns," he said.

Peyton and his colleagues called on Congress to start ordering background checks on gun sellers, not just buyers.

He's also proposing laws be written that keep people on the terrorist watch list from buying guns.

Plus, he argues gun dealers who are going out of business shouldn't be allowed to sell off their stock without background checks.

And he wants to close a loophole in federal law that lets buyers at gun shows get guns with no background check.

A commercial focused on that final point is hitting the air today in Washington, DC. The ad, paid for by the coalition, features all three top presidential candidates speaking out against the gun show loophole.

Then mayors supporting each of the candidates, and Bloomberg, an undeclared voter, say more about the loophole. Peyton's line comes sandwiched between mayors from Baltimore and Boston.

And Peyton says the bipartisan faces in the ad and at the summit in Washington are a sign that his group's goals have a real chance.

"It's not about ideology," Peyton said to the crowd. "It's really about public safety, and keeping our cities safe."

The organization also announced an agreement with the largest firearms seller in America: Wal-Mart. As a part of the "Responsible Firearms Retailer partnership," Wal-Mart said it will adopt a ten-point code aimed at keeping guns out of criminals' hands.

The new procedures will include background checks on employees who sell guns, videotaping gun sales, and tracking gun purchases in a log to look for unusual patterns.

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