Everytown Announces Tampa Mayor Castor Among New Co-Chairs of Mayors Against Illegal Guns

Announcement Comes On the Heels of the Fourth Annual Gun Violence Survivors Week; Last Week, President Biden Traveled to New York to Meet with Mayor Adams, Other Leaders Regarding Recent Gun Violence 

Mayor Castor has Been a Leader for Gun Violence Prevention, Both as Chief of Police and as Mayor

NEW YORK — Today, Mayors Against Illegal Guns, part of Everytown for Gun Safety, announced that Tampa, Florida Mayor Jane Castor is one of 10 new co-chairs – the first new co-chairs Mayors Against Illegal Guns has had since its founding in 2006. The new co-chairs join founding chair Mike Bloomberg as leaders of the nonpartisan coalition, and also include: Baltimore, Maryland Mayor Brandon Scott; Chattanooga, Tennessee Mayor Tim Kelly; Former Columbia, South Carolina Mayor Steve Benjamin; Kansas City, Missouri Mayor Quinton Lucas; Mount Vernon, New York Mayor Shawyn Patterson-Howard; New York, New York Mayor Eric Adams; Former Stockton, California Mayor Michael Tubbs; St. Louis, Missouri Mayor Tishaura Jones; and Tucson, Arizona Mayor Regina Romero.

“Gun violence is a public health emergency in cities across the country that demands urgent solutions at every level,” said Tampa, Florida Mayor Jane Castor. “I’m proud to serve as a co-chair of Mayors Against Illegal Guns and help lead this coalition of mayors calling for change.”

“Throughout her time in office and as Tampa’s police chief, Mayor Castor has fought for common-sense gun safety measures that will keep our communities safer,” said Wendy Malloy, a volunteer with the Florida chapter of Moms Demand Action. “We’re so glad that she’s taking that fight to the next level as a new co-chair of Mayors Against Illegal Guns.”

“City leaders like Mayor Castor are on the frontlines of America’s gun violence epidemic, but they can’t win this fight without help from leaders at all levels of government,” said John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety. “Every corner of America has been touched by gun violence, which means that every elected official needs to put ensuring public safety ahead of scoring political points.”

“In 2006, when Congress wasn’t willing to take on the NRA, Tom Menino and I teamed up with other mayors to create an organization that would – and did, very effectively,” said Mike Bloomberg, founding chair of Mayors Against Illegal Guns and 108th mayor of New York City. “It’s great to see the next generation of mayors band together and pick up the fight, including Mayor Castor. The more that mayors work together – and stand together in state capitols and Congress – the more able our cities will be to stop crime and save lives.”

A member of Mayors Against Illegal Guns since 2019, Mayor Castor has advocated for stronger background checks at the federal level. Her experience as both a mayor and a former police chief has made her a nationally recognized leader in understanding the intersection of law enforcement approaches and community programs to address gun violence. As Mayor, she convened a diverse group of residents, activists, and faith-based leaders alongside law enforcement officers to help shape recommendations that will help guide the future of policing in Tampa.

In 2006, then-New York City Mayor Bloomberg and then-Boston Mayor Menino founded Mayors Against Illegal Guns as an original coalition of 15 mayors. The coalition has since grown to a nonpartisan group of more than 1,000 current and former mayors from the smallest towns to the biggest cities in nearly every state. In 2013, Moms Demand Action and Mayors Against Illegal Guns came together to form Everytown for Gun Safety, the nation’s largest gun violence prevention organization now with more than 8 million supporters.

Mayors Against Illegal Guns members implement and advocate for life-saving gun safety reforms from local community violence intervention programs and enforcement strategies, to municipal-level gun safety ordinances, and state and federal legislation. The newly announced co-chairs of Mayors Against Illegal Guns will serve two year terms. During their tenure, co-chairs will provide leadership and stewardship for the coalition and advise on priorities and policies. 

Last week, President Biden traveled to New York to meet with Mayors Against Illegal Guns co-chair Mayor Eric Adams to discuss gun violence and unveil a suite of new gun safety initiatives aimed at curbing gun violence. While leaning in on federal, state, and local law enforcement partnerships to crack down on gun violence and gun trafficking, the President gave particular focus to ghost guns, the fastest growing gun safety threat in the country. The President also focused on addressing the illegal guns that move through the “Iron Pipeline” and prioritizing the prosecution of unlicensed dealers who sell guns without a background check. Everytown’s analysis of gun trace data shows the significant impact of interstate gun trafficking: over the past five years, approximately a third of the one million guns recovered in crimes crossed state lines, the vast majority originating in states that lack fundamental gun safety laws. Additionally, the President called on Congress to reach an agreement on Fiscal Year 2022 appropriations that includes $200 million in dedicated grant funding for community-based violence intervention programs, further underscoring his commitment to local violence prevention and intervention strategies.

The announcement comes on the heels of the fourth annual National Gun Violence Survivors Week, which took place February 1-7. By early February, more Americans are killed by gun violence than are killed in other high-income nations in an entire year. National Gun Violence Survivors Week seeks to share and amplify the stories of gun violence survivors who live every day with the agonizing and unending impact of gun violence.

Last week, Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund, released a new report: “When the Shooting Stops: The Impact of Gun Violence on Survivors in America.” The report provides an in-depth look at the lasting emotional, physical, legal, and financial traumas on America’s gun violence survivors and their communities. The report is the most geographically comprehensive to date, with respondents from 46 states, and the broadest, looking at a full spectrum of survivors, ranging from mass shootings and intimate-partner gun violence, to suicide, community gun violence, and more.