COALITION OF MAYORS AGAINST ILLEGAL GUNS ANNOUNCES 31 NEW MEMBERS SINCE TUESDAY'S NATIONAL SUMMIT

Summit Propels 25% Expansion in Membership; Coalition now has 154 Members

The bi-partisan coalition of Mayors Against Illegal Guns today announced that in the four days following its national summit, 31 more mayors from across the nation have stepped up and joined the coalition, which is committed to stopping illegal guns from getting into the hands of criminals. Their participation increases the coalition’s membership to 154 mayors, more than ten times the size of the original group that first met last April in New York City.  The new mayors hail from every region of the country and govern cities such as Richmond, Virginia; Bowling Green, Kentucky; Natchez, Mississippi; and Austin, Texas.  The bi-partisan coalition, which recognizes that keeping illegal guns off the street is not an issue of ideology but of law enforcement, has united in taking a common-sense approach to fighting illegal guns at the local, state, and federal levels, while also respecting the rights of gun-owners.

“Our coalition is growing because – as the national summit showed – mayors of both parties are committed to doing more to keep illegal guns off the street, which threaten the safety of our citizens, especially our police officers,” said Mayor Bloomberg, co-chair of the coalition.  “The 31 new mayors joining the ranks of our coalition demonstrate that momentum is building for our efforts to crack down on illegal guns and convince state legislatures and Congress to take ideology out of law enforcement.”

“Illegal guns do not only affect big cities or cities in a certain part of the country and the addition of these mayors shows how large the problem really is,” said Mayor Menino, co-chair of the coalition. “As mayors, we must do all we can to protect our citizens. Joining this coalition is a small step toward a greater goal. ”

“I am pleased to be a part of this coalition because of what it can achieve at the federal level to produce consistent, focused results that can help us in our local efforts to stop the flow of illegal guns,” said Richmond Mayor L. Douglas Wilder. “We need a unifying voice in Congress to help us achieve these public safety measures.  This coalition will play an important role in that regard.”

“I am pleased to join the growing list of bi-partisan mayors, law enforcement agencies, and sportsman groups in this effort to reduce violence through better control of illegal guns,” said Austin Mayor Will Wynn.

The new members of the Mayor’s Against Illegal Guns Coalition are:

Fayetteville, AR - Mayor Dan Coody
North Little Rock, AR - Mayor Patrick Hays
Campbell, CA - Mayor Daniel E. Furtado
Cupertino, CA - Mayor Kris Wang
Irvine, CA  - Mayor Beth Krom
Oakland, CA - Mayor Ron Dellums
Sacramento, CA - Mayor Heather Fargo
San Bernardino, CA - Mayor Patrick J. Morris
San Jose, CA - Mayor Chuck Reed
Sunnyvale, CA - Mayor Otto O. Lee
West Sacramento, CA - Mayor  Christopher Cabaldon
Coral Springs, FL - Mayor Scott J. Brook
Tamarac, FL - Mayor Beth Talabisco
Pembroke Pines, FL - Mayor Frank C. Ortis
North Miami, FL - Mayor Kevin Burns
Port St Lucie, FL - Mayor  Patricia Christensen
Quincy, IL - Mayor John A. Spring
Bowling Green, KY - Mayor Elaine Walker
Haverhill, MA  - Mayor Jim Fiorentini
Natchez, MS - Mayor Phillip West
Pascagoula, MS - Mayor Matthew J. Avara
Asheville, NC - Mayor Terry Bellamy
Highland Park, NJ -  Mayor Meryl Frank
Irvington, NJ - Mayor Wayne Smith
Mansfield, OH - Mayor Lydia J. Reid
North Olmsted, OH  - Mayor Thomas E. O'Grady
Youngstown, OH  - Mayor Jay Williams
Austin, TX  - Mayor Will Wynn
Hurst, TX - Mayor Richard Ward
Richmond, VA  - Mayor L. Douglas Wilder
Tacoma, WA  - Mayor Bill Baarsma 

On Tuesday January 23rd, over 50 members of the coalition met in Washington, DC, for a national summit, where mayors shared best practices and strategies, discussed the importance of forging alliances with gun owners, and united in opposition to the federal “Tiahrt Amendment,” which restricts cities access to, and use of, gun trace data, an essential crime-fighting tool.  The coalition also announced the creation of a bi-partisan Congressional Task Force on Illegal Guns led by Congressmen Charles Rangel (D-NY), John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI), Peter King (R-NY) and Mark Kirk (R-IL). The mayors that attended the summit also heard the results of a bi-partisan national poll showing strong support for tougher enforcement of existing gun laws and common sense provisions to prevent and solve crimes, including access to and use of trace data from gun sales. The original group of 15 mayors met in April 2006 and pledged to enlist up to 50 mayors from around the country. By early June 2006, 52 mayors had already joined the coalition and today, there are 154 mayors from 44 states and the District of Columbia. In October 2006, Mayor Bloomberg and Mayor Menino announced the launch of the Coalition’s website, www.mayorsagainstillegalguns.org.