In letter to D.C., 750 mayors issue urgent call for gun reform

On Dec. 19, more than 750 mayors from across the country joined Boston Mayor Thomas Menino and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, co-chairs of Mayors Against Illegal Guns, to call for “common sense reform” to the nation’s gun laws.

In a letter sent to President Barack Obama just before his public address, the bipartisan coalition proposed three concrete action items in the wake of the Dec. 14 mass shooting in Newtown, Conn.:

• Mandate criminal background checks on all U.S. gun sales
• Work to get military-style weapons and high-capacity magazines off our streets
• Enact measures to make gun trafficking a federal crime

“It’s unfortunate that it’s taken such a heinous crime like the one in Newtown for our voices to be heard,” Menino said. “The ache that is being felt by Newtown families is being felt every day by Boston families whose loved ones have fallen victim to gun violence.

“We’ll continue to demand a plan, and immediate action, until our nation’s gun laws make sense. We look forward to working with Vice President [Joe] Biden on a path forward. Enough is enough.”

As the nation engages in a dialogue on legislation and policy to make communities safer, the Boston Police Department continues its work to remove illegal guns from Boston’s neighborhoods, Menino said. Despite some of the toughest state gun laws in the nation, the department continues to remove weapons due to “glaring loopholes in federal law,” he said.

In 2012, the Boston Police Department has removed more than 500 illegal firearms from Boston’s streets. Sixty percent of all crime guns recovered by the department come from outside the state.

“Now is the time for Washington to take action,” said Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis. “We need federal legislation that would require gun buyers to pass criminal background checks and prohibit any private citizen from owning military-style, high-capacity firearms. It is clear these types of weapons have one purpose – to kill large numbers of people quickly – and it is essential we get these guns off our streets.”

Davis said his department has seized several of the high-powered weapons and high-capacity magazines used in mass shootings in Tucson, Ariz., Aurora, Colo., and Newtown.

Since its founding by Menino and Bloomberg in 2006, Mayors Against Illegal Guns has created and advocated for legislation to fix background checks and close loopholes. In reaction to the spike in shootings since July, the coalition is also demanding action from the president and Congress on high-capacity magazines and assault weapons.

The Massachusetts delegation of Mayors Against Illegal Guns now includes 22 mayors. Seven mayors – Attleboro Mayor Kevin Dumas, Beverly Mayor Bill Scanlon, Everett Mayor Carlo DeMaria, Lowell Mayor Patrick Murphy, Quincy Mayor Tom Koch, Braintree Mayor Joseph Sullivan and Melrose Mayor Robert Dolan – have joined since the Newtown shooting.

For more information on Mayors Against Illegal Guns, visit www.mayorsagainstillegalguns.org.