186 PENNSYLVANIA MEMBERS OF MAYORS AGAINST ILLEGAL GUNS ASK SENATORS SPECTER AND CASEY TO CLOSE GUN SHOW LOOPHOLE

Six-Figure Pennsylvania Media Buy to Air Across State on Cable and in Major Broadcast Markets, Featuring Undercover Footage Of Illegal Gun Show Sale

Conference Call with Pennsylvania Mayors and Police Held Today at 11:00 AM; Dial In: (800) 603-2775; Code: 70788632

Pennsylvania Mayors Against Illegal Guns today launched a campaign urging Senator Arlen Specter and Senator Robert Casey to support federal legislation to close the Gun Show Loophole. Currently, S.843 and H.R.2324, bills that close the Gun Show Loophole, are pending in the U.S. Congress. Television ads featuring undercover footage of an illegal sale at an Ohio gun show will begin appearing in every major media market in Pennsylvania today and will continue to run through the week. The Gun Show Loophole is a deadly gap in federal law that enables criminals to buy guns at gun shows without undergoing a criminal background check. Watch the ad online at: http://www.closetheloophole.org/PA-ad.

Reading, Pennsylvania Mayor Thomas McMahon, chairman of the Mayors Against Illegal Guns coalition in Pennsylvania, stated the coalition's commitment. "This time last year, only a few dozen PA mayors had joined our coalition. Today, nearly 200 Pennsylvania mayors have come together to combat gun violence in communities across the Commonwealth by working to cut off the supply of illegal guns to criminals. On this issue, Pennsylvania is actually ahead of the curve - already requiring criminal background checks for all handgun sales, including at gun shows. We need Senator Specter and Casey to help bring the rest of the nation up to speed by working to pass federal legislation to close the Gun Show Loophole everywhere."

Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell urged Pennsylvania's Senators to support the legislation. "Today, 186 Democratic, Republican, and independent Pennsylvania mayors called for federal action on closing the gun show loophole, a dangerous gap in gun background checks. I stand with Pennsylvania's mayors in their call to tighten gun background checks to keep guns from criminals. I hope both of our Senators will heed their call as well."

In Southwestern PA, near the state line, Aliquippa (Butler County) Mayor Anthony Battalini, explained the challenge his town faces. "We're right next door to Ohio. The fact that a felon can just take a drive across the state line to a gun show and pick up a handgun without a background check is a serious problem. We're working hard to clean up our own problems, and that is just making our job harder. Criminals buying guns at gun shows in other states is the last thing we should have to worry about."

Mayor Andrew Onufrak of Montgomery Borough (Lycoming County) put the issue into perspective, "It's been more than ten years since the Columbine shooting, and three since Virginia Tech. How has this issue not been addressed nationally yet? In Pennsylvania, we've basically closed the Gun Show Loophole, but other states that haven't taken care of it put us at risk. Guns are part of life in my area. For those of us who follow the law - reforms like this have no negative impact. But these changes will definitely make it harder for criminals to get guns. What this all comes down to is people's safety. We were elected to protect people - not a party or an organization. The people's safety is our first priority."

About the Gun Show Loophole
In Pennsylvania every handgun sale or transfer must be accompanied by a criminal background check. The rule applies to all dealers with a Federal Firearm License (FFL) conducting business at gun shops or at gun shows. In Pennsylvania this rule also applies to unlicensed private sellers at gun shows and other venues. This uniform rule makes it harder for criminals, terrorists, or other individuals to buy guns - no background checks, no questions asked.

But in more than 30 other states, the same rule does not apply. While federally licensed dealers must still conduct a background check, non-licensed private sellers are not required to do so. Individuals who would fail a background check are able to purchase firearms from these private sources. Most of the states surrounding PA do not require background checks for sales at guns shows, including West Virginia, Ohio, and Maryland.

S.843 and H.R. 2324, The Gun Show Background Check Act, would update current guidelines for gun show sales and require that non-licensed private sellers conduct the same instant criminal background checks required for sales by federally licensed dealers. In 2008, both President Obama and Senator McCain supported measures to close the Gun Show Loophole, and polling conducted last winter by conservative pollster Frank Luntz on behalf of Mayors Against Illegal Guns found that 69% of NRA members and 85% of non-NRA gun owners support requiring criminal background checks on all purchasers at gun shows.

Law Enforcement Support for Closing the Loophole
S.843 and H.R.2324 have strong support from state and federal law enforcement organizations, including the International Association of Chiefs of Police.

Mike Carroll, West Goshen Township Police Chief (Chester County), and President of the International Association of Chiefs of Police explained the need for such a reform. "As a Pennsylvania Police Chief, I am proud to stand with the mayors of PA, asking Senators Specter and Casey, along with the rest of our Congressional Delegation to work to close the Gun Show Loophole. Pennsylvania has already taken steps to close the loophole, but our communities are still in danger from the weak standards of other states. Most gun crimes are committed by criminals using handguns. Closing the gun show loophole will cut their supply without impacting law abiding citizens. Police are tasked with protecting our communities - we need the support of our elected representatives in Washington to do that job effectively."

In the last ten years, 22 law enforcement officers have been shot and killed in the line of duty in Pennsylvania - most by criminals using handguns obtained illegally. Closing off gun shows as a source of illegal guns will protect Pennsylvania communities, families, and police officers.

About the Coalition's Campaign to Close the Gun Show Loophole
The television ads are part of a national campaign by Mayors Against Illegal Guns to close the Loophole. Yesterday, the coalition launched a new advocacy website - www.CloseTheLoophole.org - and a separate TV ad campaign on MSNBC, CNN, and Fox News and on targeted outlets in Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Ohio, and Virginia.

In less than two years the Pennsylvania Mayors Against Illegal Guns coalition has grown to 186 members across the Commonwealth, joining more than 500 nationwide. Coalition members are both Democrats and Republicans and represent nearly every major city in PA, as well as suburban and rural communities. The Mayors are committed to reducing gun violence in Pennsylvania by targeting criminals and their sources of illegal guns.

"This isn't about gun rights," explained Mayor McMahon, "This is about law enforcement and protecting our communities. As mayors, that is our first duty. "

About Mayors Against Illegal Guns
Since its inception in April 2006, Mayors Against Illegal Guns has grown from just 15 mayors to 500 members. Mayors Against Illegal Guns has united the nation's mayors around common sense goals: finding new ways to strengthen the enforcement of existing laws, 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 easy for criminals and other prohibited purchasers to get guns.