Statement Of Mayors Against Illegal Guns Co-Chairs On President Obama's Executive Orders To Reduce Gun Violence

Joint Statement of Co-Chairs New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino:

NEW YORK and BOSTON, Aug. 29, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- "Today, President Obama enacted two important executive actions that close a deadly loophole in our background check system and prevent military-grade weapons from flooding our streets. Military-grade weapons have no place in our communities, and the White House's action builds upon proposals made by Mayors Against Illegal Guns. By enforcing the existing ban on the import of these military-grade firearms, President Obama and Vice President Biden are taking concrete steps to ensure that our streets are safer for all Americans. Every day, 33 people are murdered with guns in our country, and it's time for Congress to stop dragging its feet and pass common-sense reforms that keep criminals and the dangerously mentally ill from illegally buying guns."

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, making it the largest gun violence prevention advocacy organization in the country. Co-chaired by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, Mayors Against Illegal Guns 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.

CONTACT
Alex Katz: akatz@maig.org or 617-721-3779

SOURCE Mayors Against Illegal Guns