Today, Menlo Park Mayor Ray Mueller joined fellow mayors from across the country in calling for immediate action on common sense gun safety measures.
This past week, 249 U.S. mayors, including 43 from California, signed a letter from the United States Conference of Mayors urging U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Minority Leader Charles Schumer to call the Senate back into session to vote on bipartisan gun safety legislation. The letter is signed by Republican and Democratic mayors, including Mayor Dee Margo of El Paso, Texas and Mayor Nan Whaley of Dayton, Ohio.
“Five of the 10 worst mass shootings in U.S. history have occurred since 2016. This violence is a threat to the safety of our children, and the well-being of our communities,” said Mayor Mueller. “The Senate must act now to pass the sensible bipartisan legislation already sitting on its table. No more time must be wasted.”
In San Mateo County, East Palo Alto and Foster City mayors also signed as did mayor in Palo Alto, Mountain View and San Jose in Santa Clara County.
Already in 2019, there have been over 250 mass shootings – an average of greater than one mass shooting per day.
In late February, the House of Representatives passed two bills that would greatly strengthen the background check system:
• H.R. 8, the Bipartisan Background Check Act of 2019
• H.R. 1112, the Enhanced Background Checks Act of 2019
H.R. 8 passed the House on February 27 on a bipartisan vote of 240-190. It would close serious loopholes in the background check system by:
• requiring all firearm purchases to undergo a NICS background check;
• helping to prevent dangerous individuals from obtaining deadly weapons by circumventing the laws on the books;
• prohibiting unlicensed transfers of guns through unregulated secondary sales; and
• increasing law enforcement’s ability to trace crime guns.
H.R. 1112 passed the House on February 28 on a bipartisan vote of 228-198. The bill would extend the background check review period deadline from three to 10 business days, to help ensure that background checks are completed before weapons are sold and that dangerous individuals who should not have them are unable to purchase them.
The full text of the letter can be viewed on the U.S. Conference of Mayors website.
Contact: Mayor Ray Mueller
Search
