Families Of Gun Violence Victims, Gun Owners, And Elected Officials Hold Rally To Back Common-Sense Gun Laws, Urge Senators Isakson And Chambliss To Support Background Checks

ATLANTA, June 24, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Families of gun violence victims, faith leaders, gun owners, elected officials, and advocates gathered at the Georgia State Capitol in Atlanta today to voice their continued support for comprehensive and enforceable background checks that help keep guns out of the wrong hands. Participants also called on U.S. Senators Johnny Isakson and Saxby Chambliss to reconsider their position on this life-saving measure and take another look at bipartisan background checks legislation.

Participants included: Lucy McBath, whose 17-year-old son Jordan Davis was murdered with a gun in November; John Starbuck, whose 19-year-old daughter Meleia was murdered with a gun in 2005; State Senator Vincent Forte; State Senator Nan Orrock; Pastor Gary Charles of the Central Presbyterian Church; Alice Johnson of Georgians for Gun Safety; and Piyali Cole of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America.

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 would have closed this dangerous loophole by extending background checks to commercial gun sales. But Senators Isakson and Chambliss voted to block this sensible legislation, despite the fact that 91 percent of Georgians support background checks for all gun sales.

"No parent should have to bury their child as I did after my 17-year-old son Jordan was murdered with a gun in November," said Lucy McBath. "Gun violence continues to take a dreadful toll on families across the country, which is why we're committed to pushing for common-sense gun laws that will help save lives. It is imperative that our leaders act – for the sake of our children's safety."

"There are far too many families grieving today – in Atlanta, in Georgia, and throughout the country – who have lost loved ones to the scourge of gun violence, an epidemic that claims the lives of 33 Americans every day," said Pastor Gary W. Charles of the Central Presbyterian Church of Atlanta. "I come from a religious heritage that expects much from those called into public service. It is way past time for our elected officials in Washington to confront the demonic reality of gun violence and pass sensible national gun safety measures."

"Despite the fact that the overwhelming majority of Georgians support comprehensive and enforceable background checks, Senators Isakson and Chambliss voted against their constituents and against a life-saving measure that helps keep guns out of the wrong hands," said Piyali Cole of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. "Georgia's senators need to stand with the people they represent – and with Americans everywhere – on sensible gun policies that will help save lives."

The No More Names tour will provide an opportunity for the more than 90 percent of Americans who support background checks to drive home a message to our elected officials that our country needs common-sense gun laws. At each stop, participants will hold rallies with a broad coalition of supporters – including police, survivors, domestic violence prevention advocates, mayors, and other elected officials – to commemorate those we've lost and call on our leaders to stand with the American people on sensible gun policies. They will both applaud senators who voted to support comprehensive and enforceable background checks, and urge those who opposed this measure to take a second look.

States on the tour include: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, Wisconsin. For more information, please visit www.NoMoreNames.org.

Evidence demonstrates that background checks help save lives. In states that already require background checks for all handgun sales:

• Gun trafficking was 48 percent lower than in states that fail to require background checks for all handgun sales.[1]
• The rate of women murdered by an intimate partner with a gun was 38 percent lower than in other states, while the rate murdered by other means was nearly identical.[2]
• The firearm suicide rate was 49 percent lower than in other states, even though people committed suicide in other ways at almost precisely the same rate.[3]
• Thirty-nine percent fewer law enforcement officers were shot to death with handguns.[4]

About Mayors Against Illegal Guns
Since its creation in April 2006, Mayors Against Illegal Guns has grown from 15 members to more than 950 mayors from across the country. We have more than 1.5 million grassroots supporters, making us the largest gun violence prevention advocacy organization in the country. The bipartisan coalition, 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

[1] Daniel Webster, Jon Vernick, and Maria Bulzacchelli, "Effects of State-Level Firearm Seller Accountability Policies on Firearm Trafficking," Journal of Urban Health, July 2009.

[2] U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Supplementary Homicide Reports, 2010.

[3] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. Web-Based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS) [online]. (2005) [cited 2012 Dec. 20].

[4] Federal Bureau of Investigation. LEOKA Database, 2001-2011 (Accessed Mar. 2013).

MEDIA CONTACTS
Alex Katz: [email protected] or 212-788-7617
John Duckwitz: [email protected] or 540-878-1136
Lizzie Ulmer: [email protected] or 269-271-2331

SOURCE Mayors Against Illegal Guns

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