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   Mayors Against Illegal Guns is a national, bipartisan coalition of mayors working to make America’s communities safer by keeping illegal guns out of dangerous hands. Co-founded in 2006 by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, the coalition consists of mayors from 43 states, including Republicans, Democrats, and Independents, from major cities and small towns around the country. 
   
   
   
   
   
   New Investigation by Mayors Against Illegal Guns Shows Thousands of Individuals with Criminal Records are Seeking to Illegally Buy Guns Through Online Sales 
   
   
   
   September 18, 2013 -- The bipartisan Mayors Against Illegal Guns coalition today announced the results of the first-ever national investigation into individual buyers with criminal records seeking to illegally acquire guns via online gun sales. The report concludes that thousands of people already barred by existing Federal law from purchasing guns are flocking to the Internet to evade background checks and acquire guns illegally, with no questions asked. The investigation – which examined online gun listings posted between February and May 2013 on the popular website Armslist.com – found that this single website could transfer more than 25,000 guns to individuals with criminal records just this year. 
   
   Read the press release 
   
   Read the full report here 
   
   
   
   
   
   Hundreds of Americans Rally in Washington, DC to Launch Next Phase in National Fight to Fix Gun Background Check System 
   
   
   
   September 19, 2013 -- A broad coalition of Americans from across the country – including survivors of gun violence and the families of its victims, members of Congress, law enforcement, gun owners, state and local elected officials, veterans, and faith leaders – held a rally in Washington, D.C. today as part of the “No More Names: National Drive to Reduce Gun Violence” bus tour. Over the last 100 days, the tour has traveled the nation, bringing Americans together at events in 25 states to urge elected officials to reconsider bipartisan gun background check legislation that enjoys overwhelming public support – but that a minority of U.S. Senators blocked in April. Today’s rally marked the bus tour’s return to Washington, D.C., and the launch of the next phase in the national fight to fix the gun background check system. 
   
   Read the press release 
   
   
   
   
   
   Statement of Mayors Against Illegal Guns Co-Chair Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg on Failure of U.S. Senate to Pass Gun Background Check Legislation 
   
   New Polls in More Than 40 Districts and 20 States Show Voters Overwhelmingly Support Background Checks for All Gun Sales 
   
   
   
   New polls released this week by Mayors Against Illegal Guns conducted by Douglas E. Schoen LLC showed likely voters in a wide range of states and congressional districts overwhelmingly support background checks for all gun sales. The average support for background checks for all gun sales among 41 congressional district polls was 89 percent; the average among 21 statewide polls was 86 percent. The findings of these surveys can be found at www.demandaction.org . Full-page advertisements in today's Washington Post, Politico and Roll Call feature the poll results along with members of Congress from these states and districts and their ratings from the National Rifle Association. 
   
   Read the press release 
   
   
   
   
   
   Mayors Against Illegal Guns Releases New PSA Demanding Action from Congress 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Mayors Against Illegal Guns has released a PSA featuring 30 mayors demanding that Congress take immediate action to prevent gun violence. The PSA marks a transition in the coalition's campaign from demanding a plan to demanding that Congress take action to pass legislation to require background checks for all sales, limit military-style assault weapons and high-capacity magazines and make gun trafficking a federal crime. The bipartisan coalition now includes more than 900 mayors from 45 states and more than 1.4 million grassroots supporters. 
   
   
   
   
   
   Statements of Mayors Against Illegal Guns Co-Chairs on President Obama's Comprehensive Proposal to Reduce Gun Violence 
   
   Mayors Against Illegal Guns Releases New Television Ad Demanding Action From Washington and Report On Gun Lobby Suppression of Research on Gun Violence on One-Month Anniversary of Newtown Shooting 
   
   
   
   Marking one month since the tragedy in Newtown, Mayors Against Illegal Guns today released a new national television ad (available at www.demandaction.org) featuring family members of gun violence victims demanding that political leaders take immediate steps to end the gun violence that kills 33 Americans every day. Co-chair Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg also released "Access Denied", a new report that surveys all the efforts by the gun lobby, with the cooperation of Congress, to suppress data and research funding on gun violence, making it difficult to study the causes of gun violence and to hold the firearms industry accountable for their role in the epidemic. The report (available at www.demandaction.org) was released at a summit focused on gun violence research at Johns Hopkins University's Bloomberg School of Public Health. 
   
   Read the press release 
   
   
   
   
   
   Mayors Against Illegal Guns Launches New TV Ad on Second Anniversary of Tucson Shooting 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Two years after the Tucson mass shooting in which six were killed and former Representative Gabrielle Giffords was shot, Mayors Against Illegal Guns today released a new television ad featuring Roxanna Green, mother of Christina-Taylor Green, the nine year-old girl murdered that day. The 30-second spot opens with a scene from the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in which 20 children were killed. In the ad, Green demands that elected officials in Washington D.C. take immediate action to reduce gun violence in America. The ad can be viewed at www.demandaplan.org/christina-taylor. 
   
   
   
   "How many more children must die before Washington does something to end our gun violence problem?" said Mayors Against Illegal Guns Co-Chair and New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. "We need political leaders to hear Roxanna loud and clear: we cannot wait any longer for you to do something about gun violence. Another child should not have to die." 
   
   
   
   "Roxanna Green knows all too well the pain of losing a loved one to gun violence - sadly, there are parents and siblings and friends who learn this every day in our country," said Mayors Against Illegal Guns Co-Chair and Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino. "It's time for Washington to act to reduce gun violence - for the 33 Americans that are killed every day and for all of our children." 
   
   Read the full release here 
   
   Watch the ad here 
   
   
   
   
   
   Statements of Mayors Against Illegal Guns Co-Chairs On National Rifle Association Press Conference 
   
   
   
   December 21, 2012 – “The NRA's Washington leadership has long been out of step with its members, and never has that been so apparent as this morning. Their press conference was a shameful evasion of the crisis facing our country. Instead of offering solutions to a problem they have helped create, they offered a paranoid, dystopian vision of a more dangerous and violent America where everyone is armed and no place is safe. Leadership is about taking responsibility, especially in times of crisis. Today the NRA's lobbyists blamed everyone but themselves for the crisis of gun violence. While they promote armed guards, they continue to oppose the most basic and common sense steps we can take to save lives - not only in schools, but in our movie theaters, malls, and streets. Enough. As a country, we must rise above special interest politics. Every day, nearly 34 Americans are murdered with guns. That's why 74 percent of NRA members support common sense restrictions like criminal background checks for anyone buying a gun. It is time for Americans who care about the Second Amendment and reasonable gun restrictions to join together to work with the President and Congress to stop the gun violence in this country. Demand a plan.” 
   
   Read the full statement 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Coalition Members Send Concrete Proposals to Washington in the Wake of Newtown Mass Shooting 
   
   
   
   December 19 – More than 750 member of Mayors Against Illegal Guns today sent a letter to President Obama and Congressional leadership urging passage of legislation to: close deadly loopholes in the national background check system; limit the availability of military style weapons and high-capacity magazines; and make gun trafficking a federal crime. 
   
   Read the letter here 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Survivors and Family Members of Gun Violence Victims Demand a Plan to Reduce Gun Violence from Washington 
   
   
   
   December 17, 2012 - Mayors Against Illegal Guns Co-Chair and New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg was joined today by survivors and family members of victims of gun violence to release personal videos demanding that elected officials in Washington D.C. take immediate action to reduce gun violence in America. The videos can be viewed at www.DemandAPlan.org The videos tell the stories of 34 Americans whose lives have been forever changed - whether in mass shootings in Aurora, Oak Creek, Tucson and Virginia Tech or in the daily gun violence that kills nearly 34 Americans every day. The diverse voices hail from urban and suburban areas across the country, young and old, of different races and religious backgrounds. Every story is different, but all survivors are united in their belief thatsomething must be done to prevent more tragedies like the one in Newtown, Connecticut and like the tragedy they personally experienced. “What happened in Newtown was an unspeakable crime – a mass murder in which six- and seven-year-old children were gunned down in their classrooms, along with their elementary school teachers and administrators,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “Gun violence is a national epidemic – and a national tragedy – that demands more than words. It demands immediate national action, from the President and from Congress. It needs to be at the top of their agenda.” 
   
   Read the press release 
   
   Watch and share the videos 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Statements of Mayors Against Illegal Guns Co-Chairs on Newtown, Connecticut Shooting 
   
   
   
   December 14, 2012 – Statement of Mayor's Against Illegal Guns Co-Chair New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg: "With all the carnage from gun violence in our country, it's still almost impossible to believe that a mass shooting in a kindergarten class could happen. It has come to that. Not even kindergarteners learning their ABC's are safe. We heard after Columbine that it was too soon to talk about gun laws. We heard it after Virginia Tech. After Tucson and Aurora and Oak Creek. And now we are hearing it again. For every day we wait, nearly 34 more people are murdered with guns. 
   
   Read the press release 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Michigan Mayors Against Illegal Guns, Police, Domestic Violence Opponents Block NRA Attempt to Eliminate Background Checks for Handguns Bought from Unlicensed Sellers 
   
   
   
   The Michigan Senate today rejected an attempt to eliminate a law requiring people who buy handguns from unlicensed sellers to first pass a background check, voting instead to preserve every essential element of a system mayors and police called a successful crime-fighting tool. 
   
   The vote marked a remarkable turnaround for legislation the National Rifle Association’s Washington office had designed as a vehicle to repeal the state’s “permit to purchase” system and eliminate the permit database maintained by the Michigan State Police. A version of the bill that would have gutted the permit system passed the Michigan House earlier this year and was widely expected to reach Governor Rick Snyder’s desk during the legislature’s lame-duck session. 
   
   Read the press release 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Aurora Shooting Survivor Demands a Plan to Reduce Gun Violence From Presidential Candidates in Ad Campaign Aimed at Colorado Debate Viewers 
   
   
   
   A survivor of the July mass shooting in Aurora, Colorado is appearing in a new TV ad asking the presidential candidates to explain how they will reduce gun violence when they meet to debate on Wednesday less than ten miles from the Cinemark theater where a dozen people were killed and 58 wounded. The ad features Stephen Barton, a recent Syracuse University graduate and Fulbright Scholarship recipient who was shot while spending the night in Aurora on a bicycle trip across America. The ad will air nationally during the week that President Barack Obama and Governor Mitt Romney meet at the University of Denver for their first face-to-face debate. 
   
   Watch the TV ad featuring Stephen Barton 
   
   Read the press release (PDF) 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Coalition Launches Interactive Map Showing Failure of States to Submit Mental Health Records 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   August 16, 2012 - Mayors Against Illegal Guns has launched an interactive map showing how many mental health records each state has submitted to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), and comparing this performance with the best-performing states. Based on new FBI data updating the coalition's November 2011 Fatal Gaps report, the map shows that 21 states have each submitted fewer than 100 records. This continued failure to repair the system also spurred sixty-seven survivors and victims' family members of the 2007 Virginia Tech shooting to send a letter to President Obama and Governor Romney – demanding that the candidates announce plans to improve the nation's background check system. 
   
   Visit DemandAPlan.org/FatalGaps to View the Interactive Map of NICS Records 
   
   Read the coalition press release about the map and the Virginia Tech letter 
   
   Read the letter from the Virginia Tech survivors and victims' family members to President Obama and Governor Romney (PDF) 
   
   Download the November 2011 "Fatal Gaps" Report (PDF) 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Coalition Releases New Poll of NRA Members Showing Strong Support For Common-Sense Gun Laws 
   
   
   
   July 24, 2012 - Mayors Against Illegal Guns released the findings of a recent survey by GOP pollster Frank Luntz showing that NRA members and gun owners overwhelmingly support a variety of laws designed to keep firearms out of dangerous hands. The survey's key findings include that 87 percent of NRA members agree that support for Second Amendment rights goes hand-in-hand with keeping guns out of the hands of criminals, and 74 percent of NRA members and 87 percent of non-NRA gun owners support requiring criminal background checks of anyone purchasing a gun. 
   
   Download the Poll Results (PDF) 
   
   Read the Press Release 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Mayors Against Illegal Guns Statement on Aurora Shooting 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Read the statements of Mayors Against Illegal Guns Co-Chairs New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino 
   
   
   
   Mayors Oppose Concealed Carry Reciprocity Mandate 
   
   
   
   Mayors oppose pending legislation in Congress that would allow Trayvon Martin's killer to carry hidden, loaded guns nationwide. 
   
   Read the letter 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Coalition Co-Chairs Urge the U.S. Senate to Reject Bills That Would Override State Laws on Concealed, Loaded Guns 
   
   March 15, 2012 - New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino join the more than 625 mayors, police officers, prosecutors and domestic violence experts who oppose legislation introduced in the U.S. Senate that would gut state rules for who can carry a concealed, loaded gun in public. 
   
   Read the Statement 
   
   
   
   
   
   Coalition Co-Chairs Star in Super Bowl Ad Promoting Common Sense Reforms to Keep Guns Out of the Hands of Criminals 
   
   February 2, 2012 - This Sunday, during Super Bowl XLVI, Patriots fan and Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino and Giants fan and New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg will appear in a new television advertisement promoting common sense reforms to keep guns out of the hands of criminals. 
   
   
   
   Watch the TV advertisement 
   
   Learn more about common sense ways to fix the gun background check system at www.FixGunChecks.org 
   
   Follow Mayors Against Illegal Guns on Facebook and Twitter. 
   
   
   
   
   
   Fix Gun Checks: Delete Online Outlaws Urges Websites to Crack Down on Illegal Gun Sales 
   
   December 14, 2011 - In response to a new investigation by the City of New York that exposed the vast, unregulated online market for illegal guns, Mayors Against Illegal Guns launched a grassroots effort to crack down on illegal online gun sales. The investigation found that 62% of sellers were willing to sell to individuals who said they couldn't pass a criminal background check. The coalition is urging Congress to take action to require a background check on all gun sales, and for websites to take simple steps to stop illegal sales: requiring sellers to register with the site before listing guns for sale online; requiring buyers to register with the site before contacting gun sellers; providing a simple mechanism to flag suspicious behavior; and auditing their own sites - as many sites are already doing. 
   
   Learn more 
   
   Read the coalition press release about the investigation 
   
   
   
   
   
   New Coalition Report Shows State and Federal Failures Undermine Background Check System and Allow Substance Abusers and the Mentally Ill to Buy Guns 
   
   November 14, 2011 - New Mayors Against Illegal Guns report reveals data showing that states and federal agencies fail to send millions of records to the federal firearms background check system, enabling substance abusers, the mentally ill and other dangerous individuals to pass background checks and purchase firearms. 
   
   Download the report (in PDF) 
   
   Read the press release 
   
   
   
   
   
   Mayors Oppose Concealed Gun Mandate in New Ad 
   
   October 20, 2011 - Mayors Against Illegal Guns placed a full-page ad in USA Today calling on the U.S. Senate to reject an effort to strip state authority to decide who can carry concealed, loaded guns in public. This federal mandate would threaten the safety of our communities by putting loaded guns in the hands of people who are too dangerous to qualify for a local permit. 
   
   See the USA Today Advertisement (in PDF) 
   
   Join Our Campaign at OurLivesOurLaws.org 
   
   Read the Press Release 
   
   
   
   
   
   Coalition Launches Campaign Against National Concealed Carry Reciprocity 
   
   September 12, 2011 – A coalition of more than 600 mayors has launched a campaign to defend the rights of states to decide who can carry concealed, loaded guns. The campaign website, OurLivesOurLaws.org, highlights the broad opposition to the National Right-to-Carry Act (H.R.822) from law enforcement, faith leaders, domestic violence groups, and the more than 45,000 Americans who have signed the Our Lives, Our Laws petition. A new poll, also released today, shows that voters overwhelmingly oppose Congressional efforts to override state concealed carry laws. 
   
   Read the Press Release 
   
   Download the Poll Results (in PDF) 
   
   Download the Fact Sheet for H.R. 822 (in PDF) 
   
   Sign the Petition at OurLivesOurLaws.org 
   
   
   
   
   
   Coalition Calls on President Obama to Strengthen and Better Enforce Gun Laws 
   
   On the six-month anniversary of the tragic shooting in Tucson, Mayors Against Illegal Guns issued a letter calling on President Obama to prevent criminals, terrorists, and other dangerous people from obtaining illegal guns. The coalition members offered four concrete steps the administration could take without Congressional action to better enforce existing gun laws, reminding the President that over 6,100 Americans have died from gun violence since the Tucson shooting. 
   
   Read the Letter to President Obama 
   
   
   
   
   
   Mayors Urge Repeal of Restrictions that Impede Investigation of "Fast & Furious" 
   
   Mayors Michael R. Bloomberg and Thomas M. Menino, coalition co-chairs, called on Congressional leaders to repeal the Tiahrt restrictions that are blocking Congressional oversight of the ATF's controversial "Operation Fast & Furious." ATF allegedly allowed guns to be illegally trafficked to Mexico, possibly putting law enforcement officers in danger. The Tiahrt Amendments prohibit ATF from sharing crime gun trace data. As a result, Congress has been forced to request trace data connected to the Fast & Furious investigation from the Mexican Government. 
   
   Read the Letter to Congressional Leaders 
   
   
   
   
   
   Mayors Launch TV Ad Addressing Al Qaeda Gun Plot 
   
   A coalition of more than 600 mayors has launched a national TV ad campaign calling attention to a recent Al Qaeda propaganda video that urges the terrorist group's followers to exploit loopholes to purchase firearms without background checks. The mayors' ad is running on national cable news programs this week. It urges Congress to pass the Fix Gun Checks Act of 2011 and the Denying Firearms to Dangerous Terrorists Act of 2011, bills pending that would close the loopholes Al Qaeda publicized. 
   
   Watch the "What Are You Waiting For?" Ad 
   
   Read the Press Release Announcing the Ad 
   
   Read the Mayor's Statement Responding to the Al Qaeda Propaganda Video 
   
   
   
   
   
   The Fix Gun Checks Act of 2011 is Introduced in the House of Representatives 
   
   May 6, 2011 - Yesterday members of the U.S. House of Representatives introduced the Fix Gun Checks Act of 2011 (H.R.1781). This legislation will close gaps in the national gun background system that have enabled criminals and other dangerous people – including Tucson shooter Jared Loughner – to easily obtain firearms. The bill was introduced by Rep. Carolyn McCarthy and more than two dozen other members, including Democratic National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers and Crime Subcommittee Ranking Member Bobby Scott. Senator Chuck Schumer introduced similar legislation in February. The Fix Gun Checks Act of 2011 achieves the goal President Obama set after the Tucson mass shooting, a gun background check system that is "instant, accurate, and comprehensive." 
   
   Read the Press Release Announcing the House Bill 
   
   
   
   
   
   Following President Obama's Call, Tucson Shooting Victims' Families Endorse Plan to Fix U.S. Gun Background Check System 
   
   March 28, 2011 - Arizona families, civic leaders and elected officials today gathered to endorse legislation based on the Mayors' plan to fix the gun background check system. The press conference, in Tucson, brought together victims of the mass shooting on January 8th that killed 6 people and injured 13 others, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. Attendees included Ross Zimmerman, the father of Gabe Zimmerman, Rep. Giffords' staff member who was killed in the shooting; James Fuller; Randy Gardner; Patricia Maisch, who prevented the shooter from reloading; Dr. Peter Rhee, chief of trauma at University Medical Center; and others. The event comes just two weeks after President Obama signaled his support for fixing background checks. 
   
   Read the Press Release 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Key Members of Congress Join Mayor Bloomberg in Announcing House Version of the Fix Gun Checks Act of 2011 
   
   March 15, 2011 - Mayor Michael Bloomberg today applauded President Obama for his recent statements in support of fixing the gun background check system and closing the loopholes that enable criminals to avoid these checks; the President expressed his support in a March 13 letter written to the Arizona Daily Star. During the press conference in Washington D.C., Mayor Bloomberg was joined by New York Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy, who will introduce the Fix Gun Checks Act of 2011 in the U.S. House, other key House members from across the country. 
   
   Read the Press Release About Today's Announcement 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   President Obama Expresses Support for Fixing Background Checks 
   
   March 14, 2011 - In a letter to a Tucson newspaper yesterday, President Obama announced his support for an improved system to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people. The President called for an "instant, accurate, and comprehensive" background check for gun sales, stressing that dangerous individuals should not be able to avoid the background check requirement altogether. His comments add to the growing momentum behind the Mayors Against Illegal Guns Fix Gun Checks campaign, which polls show also has the support of an overwhelming majority of Americans-including gun owners. 
   
   See President Obama's Letter to the Arizona Daily Star 
   
   Read the Statement from the Coalition's Co-Chairs in Response to President Obama's Statements (in PDF) 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Mayors Launch National Drive to Fix Gun Checks 
   
   February 16, 2011 - This morning, Mayor Michael Bloomberg appeared on Good Morning America to launch the National Drive to Fix Gun Checks and raise awareness of gun crime across the country. The Fix Gun Checks billboard truck started in Times Square and keeps a running toll of the numbers of the Americans murdered by guns since the tragic shooting in Tucson, Arizona. The National Drive will criss-cross at least 25 states to meet with mayors, law enforcement, faith leaders, victims of gun violence, sportsmen, and supporters over the next two months. 
   
   Read the press release announcing the tour 
   
   Learn more at www.fixgunchecks.org 
   
   
   
   
   
   America’s Mayors, Kennedy, and King Families Call on President and Congress to Act 
   
   January 25, 2011 – This morning, Mayors Against Illegal Guns joined with Martin Luther King, III and Kathleen Kennedy Townsend in sending an open letter to President Obama and Members of Congress urging them to fix the nation's criminal background check system. The letter appeared as a full page ad in the January 25th edition of the Washingon Post. 
   
   Download the Print Ad (PDF) 
   
   Take Action at 
   
   Read the Mayors’ Plan to Fix Gun Checks (PDF) Take Action at www.fixgunchecks.org 
   
  
target: – The same day seven were shot dead in a Sikh temple in Wisconsin and just weeks after 12 were killed in a Colorado movie theater, shooting victims are appearing in a moving advertisement demanding that President Obama and Mitt Romney come up with a strategy to reduce gun violence. Three survivors of last year's Tucson mass shooting that killed six people and critically injured Rep. Gabby Giffords "demand a plan" from the candidates. "Our leaders gave us a moment of silence, but they haven't given us a plan," they note. "President Obama, Governor Romney: We demand a plan because 48,000 Americans will be murdered with guns during the next president's term. That's three Aurora shootings every day. We need less less silence and more courage." The ad is sponsored by Mayors Against Illegal Guns, and is part of the "Demand a Plan" campaign and petition drive. No word from the candidates.