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Home , Andy Schor, Brandon Scott, Dean Trantalis, Eric Papenfuse, Jorge Elorza, Keisha Lance Bottoms

The Honorable Chuck Schumer The Honorable Mitch McConnell Majority Leader Minority Leader Senate United States Senate The Capitol, S-221 The Capitol, S-230 Washington, DC 20510 Washington, DC 20510

Re: Over 100 Mayors Call for Background Checks Legislation

Dear Senators,

The mass shootings in and Boulder in recent weeks are a reminder of the vulnerabilities we face when people who should not have guns are able to access them. Every day in our cities and towns, we use all the tools at our disposal to keep guns out of the hands of people who are a danger to themselves or others. But we are in desperate need of the tools only the federal government can provide. We must close the gaping loopholes in our federal laws that have allowed illegal guns to food our communities for far too long. For this reason, we, the undersigned mayors from across the country, call on U.S. Senators to pass background checks legislation now.

Background checks are the backbone of any comprehensive gun violence prevention strategy; they keep our communities safer and are associated with reduced rates of frearm homicide, suicide, and frearm trafcking. We know background checks work and stop sales to prohibited purchasers every day. Since 1994, background checks have blocked over 3.5 million sales to violent criminals and other prohibited people. However, current federal law only requires a background check when a gun seller is a licensed dealer, leaving all other sales, like those negotiated online or at gun shows between perfect strangers, unregulated and unchecked. While many states have closed this loophole and now require background checks for at least all handgun sales, twenty-eight states have yet to take any action and there is a massive market for gun sales where no background check is required. For this reason, the Senate must act and pass legislation to update our background check laws.

Legislation to update background checks would save lives. These laws enjoy broad public approval, with polls routinely showing that more than 90 percent of American voters support requiring background checks on all gun sales—including 89 percent of Republicans and 89 percent of gun owners.

The U.S. House of Representatives’ recent action on background checks legislation demonstrates the bipartisan support present for background checks, and the Senate must now join their colleagues and act. In 2019, the U.S. Conference of Mayors and the African American Mayors Association both adopted resolutions at their annual meetings in support of background checks. These actions join the support of other local government and law enforcement organizations, like the International Association of Chiefs of Police, Major Cities Chiefs Association, and the National League of Cities, who have all called on the federal government to take up legislation on background checks.

1 mayorsagainstillegalguns.org As the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has intensifed our country’s gun violence crisis, it is now more important than ever for the Senate to take action on background checks.

Sincerely,

Jason Q. Ward Dexter Hinton Steven L. Reed Mayor of Lisman, AL Mayor of Marion, AL Mayor of Montgomery, AL

Timothy Ragland Lincoln E. Barnett Mayor of Talladega, AL Mayor of Hughes, AR Mayor of Tucson, AZ

Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft Aja Brown Robert Garcia Mayor of Alameda, CA Mayor of Compton, CA Mayor of Long Beach, CA

Eric Garcetti London N. Breed Mayor of , CA Mayor of , CA Mayor of , CA

Sam Liccardo Pat Furey Lindsey P. Horvath Mayor of San Jose, CA Mayor of Torrance, CA Mayor of West Hollywood, CA

John F. Dunbar Sam Weaver Michael B. Hancock Mayor of Yountville, CA Mayor of Boulder, CO Mayor of , CO

Muriel Bowser Enid Weisman Rebecca Tooley Mayor of Washington, D.C. Mayor of Aventura, FL Mayor of Coconut Creek, FL

Greg Ross Mayor of Cooper City, FL Mayor of Fort Lauderdale, FL Mayor of Gainesville, FL

Joy Cooper Dan Gelber Daniella Levine Cava Mayor of Hallandale Beach, FL Mayor of Beach, FL Mayor of Miami-Dade County, FL

Rick Kriseman John Dailey Mayor of St. Petersburg, FL Mayor of Tallahassee, FL Mayor of Tampa, FL

Keisha Lance Bottoms Deana Holiday Ingraham Van Johnson Mayor of Atlanta, GA Mayor of East Point, GA Mayor of Savannah, GA

Anthony S. Ford Lori E. Lightfoot Thomas McNamara Mayor of Stockbridge, GA Mayor of , IL Mayor of Rockford, IL

Leon Rockingham, Jr. Sam Cunningham Mayor of North Chicago, IL Mayor of Waukegan , IL Mayor of Topeka, KS

Greg Fischer Adrian Perkins Nicole LaChapelle Mayor of Louisville, KY Mayor of Shreveport, LA Mayor of Easthampton, MA

Yvonne Spicer David Narkewicz Mayor of Framingham, MA Mayor of Northampton, MA Mayor of , MD

2 mayorsagainstillegalguns.org Patrick Wojahn Jefrey Slavin Kate Stewart Mayor of College Park, MD Mayor of Takoma Park, MD Mayor of Somerset, MD

Mike Duggan Mike Maguire Mayor of , MI Mayor of Lansing, M Mayor of Eagan, MN

Terry W. Briggs Grant Mabie Mayor of Bridgeton, MO Mayor of Crestwood, MO Mayor of City, MO

Lyda Krewson Chokwe A. Lumumba Diane Delaware Mayor of St. Louis, MO Mayor of Jackson, MS Mayor of Yazoo City, MS

Ian Baltutis Lydia Lavelle Mayor of Burlington, NC Mayor of Carrboro, NC Mayor of Charlotte, NC

Pam Hemminger Dontario Hardy Mayor of Chapel Hill, NC Mayor of Durham, NC Mayor of Kinston, NC

TJ Cawley Eulis Willis Jackie Sergent Mayor of Morrisville, NC Mayor of Navassa, NC Mayor of Oxford, NC

Leirion Gaylor Baird Colleen Mahr Sean M. Spiller Mayor of Lincoln, NE Mayor of Fanwood, NJ Mayor of Montclair, NJ

Jefrey Grayzel Allen Morgan Andre Sayegh Mayor of Morris Township, NJ Mayor of New Providence, NJ Mayor of Paterson, NJ

Joseph Signorello III Byron W. Brown Mayor of Roselle Park, NJ Mayor of City of Albuquerque, NM Mayor of Bufalo, NY

Nicola Armacost Steven T. Noble Noam Bramson Mayor of Hastings-on-Hudson, NY Mayor of Kingston, NY Mayor of New Rochelle, NY

Bruce Tucker Peter Scherer Lovely Warren Mayor of Piermont, NY Mayor of Pleasantville, NY Mayor of Rochester, NY

Ben Walsh Steve Patterson John Cranley Mayor of Syracuse, NY Mayor of Athens, OH Mayor of Cincinnati, OH

Andrew J. Ginther Nan Whaley Kathy Mulcahy Mayor of Columbus, OH Mayor of Dayton, OH Mayor of Orange Village, OH

Wade Kapszukiewicz Dwan B Walker Jeanne Sorg Mayor of Toledo, OH Mayor of Aliquippa, PA Mayor of Ambler, PA

Emily Marburger Mark Barbee Sal Panto Mayor of Bellevue, PA Mayor of Bridgeport, PA Mayor of Easton, PA

Eric Papenfuse Gretchen Dosch Danene Sorace Mayor of Harrisburg, PA Mayor of Kittanning, PA Mayor of Lancaster, PA

3 mayorsagainstillegalguns.org David Burton William P. Moon Jr. James Kenney Mayor of Malvern Borough, PA Mayor of Oil City, PA Mayor of , PA

William Peduto Paige Gebhardt Cognetti Mayor of , PA Mayor of Scranton, PA Mayor of Providence, RI

Patsy Rhett Steve Benjamin William Johnson Mayor of Bowman, SC Mayor of Columbia, SC Mayor of Holly Hill, SC

Lovith Anderson Jr. Michael Butler Donnie L Hilliard Mayor of Lake City, SC Mayor of Orangeburg, SC Mayor of Santee, SC

Jerald E. Sanders Mike Palazzolo Indya Kincannon Mayor of Swansea, SC Mayor of Germantown, TN Mayor of Knoxville, TN

Jim Strickland John Cooper Mayor of Memphis, TN Mayor of Nashville, TN Mayor of , TX

Dr. Larry Wallace Jr. McKinley Price, DDS Mayor of Manor, TX Mayor of Newport News, VA Mayor of Richmond, VA

Jennifer Gregerson Bryan Kennedy Mayor of Mukilteo, WA Mayor of , WA Mayor of Glendale, WI

Satya Rhodes-Conway Tom Barrett Mayor of Madison, WI Mayor of , WI

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