MAYORS AGAINST ILLEGAL GUNS HAILS INTRODUCTION OF THE FIREARMS INFORMATION USE ACT OF 2008

Joint Statement from Coalition Co-Chairs New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino on the introduction of the Firearms Information Use Act of 2008.

The bill strikes the Tiahrt Amendment – a rider that restricts the access of cities and states to aggregate crime gun trace data – from appropriations legislation

"This bill would erase the soft-on-crime Tiahrt restrictions from federal law. We applaud Senators Menendez, Clinton, Feinstein, Kennedy, Lautenberg, Reed and Schumer for putting forward a bill to restore access to the aggregate trace data that police officers, prosecutors, and others use to identify illegal gun trafficking patterns. This bill is exactly what criminals are afraid of: police officers with better information and leads. We hope the Senate takes it up - and passes it - this year.

"Last year, our bi-partisan coalition of mayors waged a campaign on Capitol Hill that resulted in the removal of some of the Tiahrt restrictions and the release of more trace data. This bill (S. 2769) goes further, removing the Tiahrt restrictions entirely. Its passage would help cities and states around the country in their fight to keep guns out of the hands of criminals, including the new regional data sharing initiative recently launched at a coalition conference in Baltimore, Maryland. The bipartisan coalition of Mayors Against Illegal Guns, which has nearly 300 members representing more than 52 million Americans, supports this common sense effort to repeal the Tiahrt restrictions, as do many law enforcement organizations whose members would greatly benefit."