WASHINGTON – Today 42 elected officials from 20 states and Young Elected Officials Action, a program of People For the American Way representing the interests of elected officials age 35 and under, called on House and Senate leaders to work toward the passage of common-sense gun violence prevention reforms. In a letter to House and Senate leaders, the elected officials write that until Congress passes “meaningful gun violence prevention measures” such as criminal background checks for every gun sale, state and local elected officials are “limited” in what they can do to address the problem in their own communities.
“No child should fear going to school in the morning, no parent should fear a trip to the grocery store, and no teenagers should fear walking the streets of their own neighborhood,” the letter states.
Elected officials who have signed the letter include city councilmembers, state senators and representatives, a mayor, and Sunnyside Unified School District board member Daniel Hernandez – the former intern credited with saving Representative Gabby Giffords’ life.
The full text of the letter is below.
Dear Leader Reid, Leader McConnell, Speaker Boehner, and Leader Pelosi:
We, state and local elected officials from 20 states and Young Elected Officials Action – a program of People For the American Way representing the interests of elected officials age 35 and under – write to express our deep concern about the gun violence devastating communities across the country and to urge you to take meaningful action to curb it. As mayors, and members of school boards, city and county councils, and state legislatures, we are charged with ensuring the safety and security of our communities. But until Congress takes action to implement meaningful gun violence prevention measures, we are limited in what we can do to reduce gun violence in our own communities.
The Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence estimates that approximately 100,000 Americans are victims of gun violence each year. Many others count the victims of such violence among their family and friends. This violence has a devastating effect on individual lives and on our communities as a whole. No child should fear going to school in the morning, no parent should fear a trip to the grocery store, and no teenagers should fear walking the streets of their own neighborhood. That fear, fed by a lawless market in deadly weapons, erodes our efforts to create strong schools, safe neighborhoods and healthy local economies.
That is why YEO Action and the undersigned are calling for common-sense reforms to make the country safer. These include: requiring a criminal background check for every gun sale; making illegal gun trafficking a federal crime; removing military-style assault weapons from our communities; and banning the use of high-capacity magazines that have no use but mass carnage. These basic changes would not end gun violence in our country, but they would help to curb the epidemic of violence that has devastated so many American lives.
Every person has the right to be safe in our schools, homes, and neighborhoods. Today we call upon you, leaders of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, to adopt these common-sense and vitally important measures.
Sincerely,
Danielle Adams, Soil/Water Conservation District Supervisor, Durham, NC
Ben Allen, School Board President, Santa Monica, CA
Mandela Barnes, State Representative, Milwaukee, WI
Alex Breland, School Council Member, Chicago, IL
Dwight Bullard, State Senator, Miami, FL
Joe Carn, City Council Member, College Park, GA
Adam Carranza, School Board Member, El Monte, CA
Leland Cheung, City Council Member, Cambridge, MA
Janet Chin, School Board Member, Rosemead, CA
Enbar Cohen, City Commissioner, Aventura, FL
Xilonin Cruz-Gonzalez, Azusa USD Board Clerk, Azusa, CA
Marcus C. Evans, Jr., State Representative, Chicago, IL
Wesley Farrow, Neighborhood Council Board Member, Inglewood, CA
Bill Ferguson, State Senator, Baltimore, MD
Carmelo Garcia, School Board Member, Hoboken, NJ
Angela Garretson, City Council Member, Hillside, NJ
Robert J. Gignac, Lowell School Committeeman, Lowell, MA
Andrew Gillum, City Commissioner, Tallahassee, FL
Mike Gipson, City Council Member, Carson, CA
Jennifer Gregerson, City Council Member, Mukilteo, WA
Mike Hays, City Council Member, Spring City, PA
Daniel Hernandez, School Board Member, Tucson, AZ
Dar'shun Kendrick, State Representative, Lithonia, GA
Kevin Killer, State Representative, Pine Ridge, SD
Roland Lemar, State Representative, New Haven, CT
Alex Lewy, City Commissioner, Hallandale Beach, FL
Josh Maxwell, Mayor, Downingtown, PA
Wendell Mosby, Community College Trustee, Chicago, IL
Quentin Phipps, City Treasurer, Middletown, CT
Kesha Ram, State Representative, Burlington, VT
Craig Rice, City Council Member, Rockville, MD
Jacque Robinson, City Council Member, Pasadena, CA
Jesus Rubalcava, School Governing Board Member/ State Association Officer, Gila Bend, AZ
Kristie Renee Sepulveda-Burchit, School District Board Trustee, Rancho Cucamonga, CA
Andrew Smith, City Council Member, Middletown, OH
Brent Steeno, Alderman, Grandview, MO
Rashida Tlaib, State Representative, Detroit, MI
Michael Unis, Board of Education Member, Verona, NJ
Virgil Watkins, City Council Member, Macon, GA
Lea Webb, City Council Member, Binghamton, NY
Alan Williams, State Representative, Tallahassee, FL
Justen Wright, City Council Member, Wilmington, DEYEO Action
People For the American Way
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