In response to the need to curb gun violence, Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown and Niagara Falls Mayor Paul A. Dyster joined with over 750 city executives across the nation by signing on to a letter to President Barack Obama from Mayors Against Illegal Guns. The letter, also delivered to Congressional leaders on December 19, 2012, presents agenda items for consideration and immediate actions that can help make American cities safer.
The letter states, “Together, we urge you to put forward an agenda that is rooted in common sense and that will make it harder for dangerous people to possess guns, and easier for police and prosecutors to crack down on them. That agenda should: (1) require every gun buyer to pass a criminal background check, (2) get high capacity rifles and ammunition magazines off our streets, and (3) make gun trafficking a federal crime.”
Immediate actions to curb gun violence encouraged by Congress and The White House include: appointment of an ATF director; prosecution of prohibited purchasers who attempt to buy firearms, ammunition or high-capacity magazines; requirement of federal agencies to report records to NICS; and repeal of remaining Tiahrt restrictions. (Please see full letter attached/below.)
Mayor Paul A. Dyster comments, “At Sunday evening’s memorial service, President Obama said that if there was even one step that we as a nation could take to save another child or parent or town from the grief that has visited Newtown, then we have an obligation to try. I couldn’t agree more. Our bipartisan coalition of mayors from across the country–many of them sportsmen and gun owners themselves–have given the President a menu of common sense actions we think are both practical and impactful. The President should know he can count on the support of the nation’s mayors as he moves to address the issue of gun violence in our country.”