City Of St. Louis: Mayor Tishaura O. Jones Joins Fellow Mayors Against Illegal Guns Co-Chairs In Support Of Bipartisan Gun Law Framework

St. Louis MO

16 June, 2022

11:58 AM

Description

Press release from the City of St. Louis: June 15, 2022 Framework Would Lead to First Major Federal Gun Safety Law in Nearly 26 Years Yesterday, Mayor Tishaura O. Jones joined her fellow co-chairs of Mayors Against Illegal Guns [mayors.everytown.org], a nonpartisan coalition of more than 1,000 current and former mayors that is part of Everytown for Gun Safety, applauded the agreement reached by a bipartisan coalition of 20 U.S. Senators on major gun safety, mental health, and school safety provisions. Mayors Against Illegal Guns Co-Chairs Mayor Brandon Scott (Baltimore, MD), Mayor Tim Kelly (Chattanooga, TN), Former Mayor Steve Benjamin (Columbia, SC), Mayor Quinton Lucas (Kansas City, MO), Mayor Shawyn Patterson-Howard (Mount Vernon, NY), Mayor Eric Adams (New York, NY), Former Mayor Michael Tubbs (Stockton, CA), Mayor Tishaura Jones (St. Louis, MO), Mayor Jane Castor (Tampa, FL), and Mayor Regina Romero (Tucson, AZ) issued the following statement: "Mayors are on the frontlines of our nation's gun violence crisis, and for far too long, we've been urging our federal lawmakers to advance life-saving policies that will keep our communities safe. While this work is far from over, the framework released this week is an important step in the right direction. We appreciate the work by the 20 bipartisan Senators to find common ground for gun safety solutions. As co-chairs of a nonpartisan coalition of more than 1,000 mayors in cities large and small, we know the importance of working together to keep our communities safe. We urge the Senate to quickly take action." If enacted, the bipartisan framework would provide the basis for the first major federal gun safety law in nearly 26 years. The framework would establish an enhanced background check process for gun buyers under age 21, provide federal funding to implement and incentivize state Red Flag laws, disarm domestic abusers by addressing the dating partner loophole, clarify which unlicensed sellers are "engaged in the business" of selling firearms and therefore required to become licensed gun dealers and run background checks, and crack down on gun trafficking, among other items. 20 bipartisan U.S. Senators released the agreed-upon framework after weeks of good faith bipartisan negotiations. The framework released Sunday includes lifesaving gun safety measures, mental health investments, and school safety funding, including: Members of Mayors Against Illegal Guns have been calling for federal action on gun safety since the coalition's founding in 2006, and most recently with co-chairs calling for many of these measures [www.everytown.org] last month. Since the tragic shootings in Uvalde and Buffalo, Mayors Against Illegal Gun members, alongside gun violence survivors and Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action volunteers, have shown up across the country to call for action on gun safety. Since its creation in April 2006, Mayors Against Illegal Guns has grown from 15 mayors of major American cities to more than 1,000 current and former mayors. The nonpartisan coalition has united mayors around these common goals: advancing enforcement and data collection strategies to prevent gun violence; investing in survivor services and violence intervention programs to address gun violence; and advocating for gun safety legislation at the local, state, and federal level. Mayors Against Illegal Guns is a joint program of Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund and Everytown for Gun Safety, the largest gun violence prevention organization in the country with over eight million supporters and more than 375,000 donors. Learn more at mayors.everytown.org [mayors.everytown.org]. This press release was produced by the City of St. Louis. The views expressed here are the author's own.