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Mayors Against Illegal Guns

Bipartisan Mayors Call for Background Checks

      The Honorable Chuck Schumer
      Majority Leader
      United States Senate
      The Capitol, S-221
      Washington, DC 20510

      The Honorable Mitch McConnell
      Minority Leader
      United States Senate
      The Capitol, S-230
      Washington, DC 20510

      Re: Over 100 Mayors Call for Background Checks Legislation   

      Dear Senators, 

      The mass shootings in Atlanta and Boulder in recent weeks are a reminder of the vulnerabilities we face when people who should not have guns are able to access them. Every day in our cities and towns, we use all the tools at our disposal to keep guns out of the hands of people who are a danger to themselves or others. But we are in desperate need of the tools only the federal government can provide. We must close the gaping loopholes in our federal laws that have allowed illegal guns to flood our communities for far too long. For this reason, we, the undersigned mayors from across the country, call on U.S. Senators to pass background checks legislation now.

      Background checks are the backbone of any comprehensive gun violence prevention strategy; they keep our communities safer and are associated with reduced rates of firearm homicide, suicide, and firearm trafficking. We know background checks work and stop sales to prohibited purchasers every day. Since 1994, background checks have blocked over 3.5 million sales to violent criminals and other prohibited people. However, current federal law only requires a background check when a gun seller is a licensed dealer, leaving all other sales, like those negotiated online or at gun shows between perfect strangers, unregulated and unchecked. While many states have closed this loophole and now require background checks for at least all handgun sales, twenty-eight states have yet to take any action and there is a massive market for gun sales where no background check is required. For this reason, the Senate must act and pass legislation to update our background check laws. 

      Legislation to update background checks would save lives. These laws enjoy broad public approval, with polls routinely showing that more than 90 percent of American voters support requiring background checks on all gun sales—including 89 percent of Republicans and 89 percent of gun owners. 

      The U.S. House of Representatives’ recent action on background checks legislation demonstrates the bipartisan support present for background checks, and the Senate must now join their colleagues and act. In 2019, the U.S. Conference of Mayors and the African American Mayors Association both adopted resolutions at their annual meetings in support of background checks. These actions join the support of other local government and law enforcement organizations, like the International Association of Chiefs of Police, Major Cities Chiefs Association, and the National League of Cities, who have all called on the federal government to take up legislation on background checks. 

      As the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has intensified our country’s gun violence crisis, it is now more important than ever for the Senate to take action on background checks.

      Sincerely,

      Jason Q. Ward
      Mayor of Lisman, AL

      Dexter Hinton
      Mayor of Marion, AL

      Steven L. Reed
      Mayor of Montgomery, AL

      Timothy Ragland
      Mayor of Talladega, AL

      Lincoln E. Barnett
      Mayor of Hughes, AR

      Regina Romero
      Mayor of Tucson, AZ

      Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft
      Mayor of Alameda, CA

      Aja Brown
      Mayor of Compton, CA

      Robert Garcia
      Mayor of Long Beach, CA

      Eric Garcetti
      Mayor of Los Angeles, CA

      Todd Gloria
      Mayor of San Diego, CA

      London N. Breed
      Mayor of San Francisco, CA

      Sam Liccardo
      Mayor of San Jose, CA

      Pat Furey
      Mayor of Torrance, CA

      Lindsey P. Horvath
      Mayor of West Hollywood, CA

      John F. Dunbar
      Mayor of Yountville, CA

      Sam Weaver
      Mayor of Boulder, CO

      Michael B. Hancock
      Mayor of Denver, CO

      Muriel Bowser
      Mayor of Washington, D.C.

      Enid Weisman
      Mayor of Aventura, FL

      Rebecca Tooley
      Mayor of Coconut Creek, FL

      Greg Ross
      Mayor of Cooper City, FL

      Dean Trantalis
      Mayor of Fort Lauderdale, FL

      Lauren Poe
      Mayor of Gainesville, FL

      Joy Cooper
      Mayor of Hallandale Beach, FL

      Dan Gelber
      Mayor of Miami Beach, FL

      Daniella Levine Cava
      Mayor of Miami-Dade County, FL

      Rick Kriseman
      Mayor of St. Petersburg, FL

      John Dailey
      Mayor of Tallahassee, FL

      Jane Castor
      Mayor of Tampa, FL

      Keisha Lance Bottoms
      Mayor of Atlanta, GA

      Deana Holiday Ingraham
      Mayor of East Point, GA

      Van Johnson
      Mayor of Savannah, GA

      Anthony S. Ford
      Mayor of Stockbridge, GA

      Lori E. Lightfoot
      Mayor of Chicago, IL

      Thomas McNamara
      Mayor of Rockford, IL

      Leon Rockingham, Jr.
      Mayor of North Chicago, IL

      Sam Cunningham
      Mayor of Waukegan , IL

      Michelle De La Isla
      Mayor of Topeka, KS

      Greg Fischer
      Mayor of Louisville, KY

      Adrian Perkins
      Mayor of Shreveport, LA

      Nicole LaChapelle
      Mayor of Easthampton, MA

      Yvonne Spicer
      Mayor of Framingham, MA

      David Narkewicz
      Mayor of Northampton, MA

      Brandon Scott
      Mayor of Baltimore, MD

      Patrick Wojahn
      Mayor of College Park, MD

      Jeffrey Slavin
      Mayor of Takoma Park, MD

      Kate Stewart
      Mayor of Somerset, MD

      Mike Duggan
      Mayor of Detroit, MI

      Andy Schor
      Mayor of Lansing, MI

      Mike Maguire
      Mayor of Eagan, MN

      Terry W. Briggs
      Mayor of Bridgeton, MO

      Grant Mabie
      Mayor of Crestwood, MO

      Quinton Lucas
      Mayor of Kansas City, MO

      Lyda Krewson
      Mayor of St. Louis, MO

      Chokwe A. Lumumba
      Mayor of Jackson, MS

      Diane Delaware
      Mayor of Yazoo City, MS

      Ian Baltutis
      Mayor of Burlington, NC

      Lydia Lavelle
      Mayor of Carrboro, NC

      Vi Lyles
      Mayor of Charlotte, NC

      Pam Hemminger
      Mayor of Chapel Hill, NC

      Steve Schewel
      Mayor of Durham, NC

      Eulis Willis
      Mayor of Navassa, NC

      Dontario Hardy
      Mayor of Kinston, NC

      Leirion Gaylor Baird
      Mayor of Lincoln, NE

      Colleen Mahr
      Mayor of Fanwood, NJ

      Sean M. Spiller
      Mayor of Montclair Township, NJ

      Jeffrey Grayzel
      Mayor of Morris Township, NJ

      Allen Morgan
      Mayor of New Providence, NJ

      Andre Sayegh
      Mayor of Paterson, NJ

      Joseph Signorello III
      Mayor of Roselle Park, NJ

      Tim Keller
      Mayor of City of Albuquerque, NM

      Byron W. Brown
      Mayor of Buffalo, NY

      Nicola Armacost
      Mayor of Hastings-on-Hudson, NY

      Steven T. Noble
      Mayor of Kingston, NY

      Noam Bramson
      Mayor of New Rochelle, NY

      Bruce Tucker
      Mayor of Piermont, NY

      Peter Scherer
      Mayor of Pleasantville, NY

      Lovely Warren
      Mayor of Rochester, NY

      Ben Walsh
      Mayor of Syracuse, NY

      Steve Patterson
      Mayor of Athens, OH

      John Cranley
      Mayor of Cincinnati, OH

      Andrew J. Ginther
      Mayor of Columbus, OH

      Nan Whaley
      Mayor of Dayton, OH

      Kathy Mulcahy
      Mayor of Orange Village, OH

      Wade Kapszukiewicz
      Mayor of Toledo, OH

      Dwan B. Walker
      Mayor of Aliquippa, PA

      Jeanne Sorg
      Mayor of Ambler, PA

      Emily Marburger
      Mayor of Bellevue, PA

      Mark Barbee
      Mayor of Bridgeport, PA

      Sal Panto
      Mayor of Easton, PA

      Eric Papenfuse
      Mayor of Harrisburg, PA

      Gretchen Dosch
      Mayor of Kittanning, PA

      Danene Sorace
      Mayor of Lancaster, PA

      David Burton
      Mayor of Malvern Borough, PA

      William P. Moon Jr.
      Mayor of Oil City, PA

      James Kenney
      Mayor of Philadelphia, PA

      William Peduto
      Mayor of Pittsburgh, PA

      Paige Gebhardt Cognetti
      Mayor of Scranton, PA

      Jorge Elorza
      Mayor of Providence, RI

      Patsy Rhett
      Mayor of Bowman, SC

      Steve Benjamin
      Mayor of Columbia, SC

      William Johnson
      Mayor of Holly Hill, SC

      Lovith Anderson Jr.
      Mayor of Lake City, SC

      Michael Butler
      Mayor of Orangeburg, SC

      Donnie L Hilliard
      Mayor of Santee, SC

      Jerald E. Sanders
      Mayor of Swansea, SC

      Mike Palazzolo
      Mayor of Germantown, TN

      Indya Kincannon
      Mayor of Knoxville, TN

      Jim Strickland
      Mayor of Memphis, TN

      John Cooper
      Mayor of Nashville, TN

      Sylvester Turner
      Mayor of Houston, TX

      Dr. Larry Wallace Jr.
      Mayor of Manor, TX

      McKinley Price, DDS
      Mayor of Newport News, VA

      Levar Stoney
      Mayor of Richmond, VA

      Jennifer Gregerson
      Mayor of Mukilteo, WA

      Jenny Durkan
      Mayor of Seattle, WA

      Bryan Kennedy
      Mayor of Glendale, WI

      Satya Rhodes-Conway
      Mayor of Madison, WI

      Tom Barrett
      Mayor of Milwaukee, WI

      120

      Did you know?

      Every day, more than 120 people in the United States are killed with guns, twice as many are shot and wounded and countless others are impacted by acts of gun violence.

      Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. WONDER Online Database, Underlying Cause of Death. A yearly average was developed using four years of the most recent available data: 2018 to 2021.

      Last updated: 2.13.2023