Senator Frosh, Delegate McIntosh, Faith Leaders And Local Advocates To Rally In Baltimore To Urge Support For Background Checks

Participants Set To Urge Congress To Pass Tough-On-Crime Background Checks Legislation; 90 Percent of Americans Support Common-Sense Background Checks

***MEDIA AND EVENT ADVISORY***

Rally is Part of "No More Names: National Drive to Reduce Gun Violence" Bus Tour; www.NoMoreNames.org

BALTIMORE, Sept. 7, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- On Saturday, September 7^th, Senator Brian Frosh, Delegate Maggie McIntosh, faith leaders and local advocates will gather in Baltimore as part of the "No More Names: National Drive to Reduce Gun Violence" – a 25-state national bus tour over a period of 100 days aimed at urging America's leaders to support common-sense gun policies.

Participants will come together Saturday to voice their support for comprehensive background checks and they will urge Maryland lawmakers to support bipartisan legislation that would extend background checks to cover private gun sales in commercial settings. They will also urge Congress to support this life-saving measure.

It remains far too easy for criminals, domestic abusers, the seriously mentally ill, and other dangerous individuals – people who know they can't pass a background check – to skirt the law and obtain guns by purchasing them online or at gun shows, where background checks are not required under federal law. Bipartisan legislation sponsored by NRA A-rated Senators Joe Manchin and Pat Toomey – and supported by a majority of U.S. senators – would have closed this dangerous loophole by extending background checks to cover private gun sales in commercial settings. But in April, a minority of senators voted to block this common-sense measure.  

The rally is being organized by Mayors Against Illegal Guns, a bipartisan coalition of more than 1,000 mayors and 1.5 million grassroots supporters nationwide – including more than 39,000 in Maryland. Every day, 33 Americans are murdered with guns in this country. "No More Names: National Drive to Reduce Gun Violence" is part of Mayors Against Illegal Guns' ongoing, national effort to continue raising awareness to the issue of gun violence in America – and most importantly, to urge elected officials to prioritize the safety of the people they represent.

What:             
Rally to urge Congress to support common-sense background checks legislation that will keep guns away from dangerous individuals and help save lives

Who:              

• State Senator Brian Frosh
• Moms Demand Action State Chapter Lead Jenifer Pauliukonis
• Bishop Douglas Miles, Koinonia Baptist Church
• Dean Hal T. Hayek of the Episcopal Cathedral of Baltimore
• Vincent DeMarco, President, Marylanders To Prevent Gun Violence
• Delegate Maggie McIntosh, Chair, Environmental Affairs Committee of the House of Delegates

Where:           
Cathedral of the Incarnation
4 East University Parkway
Baltimore, MD 21218

When:
Saturday, September 7^th at 10:00 AM

About Mayors Against Illegal Guns

Since its creation in April 2006, Mayors Against Illegal Guns has grown from 15 members to more than 1,000 mayors from across the country. The coalition has more than 1.5 million grassroots supporters – including more than 39,000 in Maryland – making us the largest gun violence prevention advocacy organization in the country. The bipartisan organization, co-chaired by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, has united the nation's mayors around these common goals: protecting communities by holding gun offenders accountable; demanding access to crime gun trace data that is critical to law enforcement efforts to combat gun trafficking; and working with legislators to fix weaknesses and loopholes in the law that make it far too easy for criminals and other dangerous people to get guns. Learn more at www.MayorsAgainstIllegalGuns.org.

CONTACTS
Lizzie Ulmer: lulmer@maig.org or 269-271-2331
Stacey Radnor: radnor@homefrontdc.com or 202-870-6668

SOURCE Mayors Against Illegal Guns