MAYORS AGAINST ILLEGAL GUNS COALITION HAILS 1,139-MEMBER U.S. CONFERENCE OF MAYORS’ PASSAGE OF RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF EFFORTS TO FIGHT ILLEGAL GUNS

Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) Has Announced Removal of Tiahrt Amendment From Senate Appropriations Bill, Key Vote in Senate Expected Thursday

The bi-partisan coalition of Mayors Against Illegal Guns hailed the passage of a resolution by the U.S. Conference of Mayors in support of efforts to fight illegal guns. The resolution calls on Congress to remove language, known as the Tiahrt Amendment, inserted into an appropriations bill that restricts law enforcement's access to crucial crime gun trace data. Repeal of the Tiahrt Amendment is the top legislative priority of the over 225-member Mayors Against Illegal Guns coalition, co-chaired by New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino. The resolution was approved at the Conference of Mayors Annual Meeting in Los Angeles and is now the policy of the group. The U.S. Conference of Mayors is a nonpartisan organization that represents mayors from 1,139 cities. Senator Barbara Mikulski has announced she will remove the Tiahrt Amendment language from the Senate version of the key appropriations bill. The full Senate Appropriations Committee will consider the Tiahrt restrictions this Thursday, June 28; the House Appropriations Committee is expected to consider the measure in July.

"I'm pleased that the U.S. Conference of Mayors joins our 225-member coalition on the list of prominent national organizations who are calling on Congress to remove the Tiahrt Amendment," said Mayor Bloomberg. "Thursday's vote in the Senate Appropriations Committee is a chance for Senators to stand up and stop shielding illegal gun traffickers and start protecting police officers."

"On behalf of Mayors Against Illegal Guns, I am proud to express our appreciation for the support of the U.S. Conference of Mayors in our campaign to take illegal guns off America's streets and give law local law enforcement the tools they need to save lives and track down rogue gun dealers," said Mayor Menino. "By passing this resolution and rejecting the Tiahrt Amendment, you are standing tall and saying that illegal guns have nothing to do with the 2nd Amendment and everything to do with law enforcement and the safety and quality of life of our communities."

The Tiahrt Amendment, a version of which has been inserted into the Department of Justice appropriations bill each year since Fiscal Year 2003, places broad restrictions on the use of information the ATF collects on guns used in crimes, called trace data. The Tiahrt Amendment also prevents local governments and police from accessing federal crime gun trace data from areas outside their immediate geographic jurisdiction; prevents cities from use of trace data in state and local civil enforcement actions, including gun license revocations; and prevents the ATF from publishing reports that use crime gun trace data to analyze nationwide gun trafficking patterns.

The Mayors campaign to remove the Tiahrt Amendment enjoys wide support from law enforcement. Ten national law enforcement organizations - including the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the International Brotherhood of Police Officers, and Major Cities Chiefs Association - and 23 state and regional law enforcement organizations, including the Illinois Fraternal Order of Police and the Texas Association of Chiefs of Police, as well as the American Hunters and Shooters Association have all joined the Mayors' call for the removal of the Tiahrt Amendment.

The text of the resolution, as adopted by the U.S. Conference of Mayors, appears below:

IN SUPPORT OF EFFORTS TO FIGHT ILLEGAL GUNS
1. WHEREAS, sixty percent of the guns used in crimes are traced back to just one percent of gun dealers; and

2. WHEREAS, eighty-five percent of gun dealers have never had a gun used in a crime traced back to them; and

3. WHEREAS, local governments and law enforcement have the responsibility to curb gun trafficking that jeopardizes the safety of their communities; and

4. WHEREAS, the ability of local governments and law enforcement to use trace data held by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is crucial to shutting off the supply of guns to criminals; and

5. WHEREAS, Congress has enacted restrictions that prevent local governments and law enforcement from using the trace data to its greatest effect, that prevent courts from compelling its disclosure and that prevent courts from hearing the data as evidence; and

6. WHEREAS, the Tiahrt Amendments, which have been inserted into the Department of Justice appropriations bill each year since FY 2003, place unnecessarily broad restrictions on access to and use of gun trace data that is compiled by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

7. WHEREAS, prior to the Tiahrt Amendments the ATF worked with local jurisdictions to analyze gun trafficking patterns and ATF prepared reports using crime gun tracing information which were extremely valuable to local law enforcement, and

8. WHEREAS, on April 25, 2006 a bipartisan group of fifteen Mayors met in New York City at the Mayor's Summit on Illegal Guns, co-chaired by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Mayor Thomas M. Menino, to begin a nationwide effort to fight illegal guns, and

9. WHEREAS, today, over 226 Mayors, representing over 50 million people across the United States are now members of Mayors Against Illegal Guns, and

10. WHEREAS, 30,000 Americans across the country are killed every year as a result of gun violence, destroying families and communities in big cities and small towns, and

11. WHEREAS, as Mayors, we are duty-bound to do everything in our power to protect our residents, especially our children, from harm and there is no greater threat to public safety than the threat of illegal guns,

12. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that The United States Conference of Mayors calls on Congress to reject legislative proposals such as the Tiahrt amendment and others, that limit our cities' ability to solve and prevent crime in our communities; and

13. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that local governments and law enforcement be given access to ATF gun trace data as such information is critical to successful investigation and reduction of violent crime in our cities; and

14. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the ATF should resume its publication of the Annual Crime Trace Reports that were last published in 2000 and which are extremely valuable to local governments and law enforcement in their efforts to combat illegal guns.