Families Of Newtown Victims, Local Gun Owners, And Faith Leaders To Gather In Little Rock To Voice Support For Sensible Gun Laws, Urge Senator Pryor To Support Background Checks

LITTLE ROCK, Ark., June 25, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- On Thursday, June 27th, families of victims of the Newtown mass shooting, local gun owners, faith leaders, and advocates will gather in Little Rock, Arkansas 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 Thursday to voice their continued support for comprehensive and enforceable background checks, and they will urge Senator Mark Pryor to reconsider his position on this life-saving measure and take another look at bipartisan background checks legislation.

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 Senator Pryor voted to block this sensible legislation, despite the fact that 84 percent of Arkansans support background checks for all gun sales.  

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 act on behalf of the people they represent.

What:  Families of Newtown victims, local gun owners, faith leaders, and other advocates to voice support for common-sense gun laws and urge Senator Pryor to take another look at bipartisan background checks legislation that would help save lives

Who:  - Neil Heslin, father of 6-year-old Newtown victim Jesse Lewis
- Carlee Soto, sister of Newtown victim and Sandy Hook teacher Victoria
- Katherine Althoff, local gun owner
- Britt Hill, local gun owner
- Reverend Carl Lewis

Where: Riverwalk Pavilion
Corner of 400 President Clinton Avenue and Ottenheimer Street
Little Rock, Arkansas

When: Thursday, June 27^th
Press Conference: 9:30 a.m.

*For interview requests in advance and on-site, please contact Stacey Radnor at 202-870-6668.

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

MEDIA CONTACTS
Alex Katz: [email protected] or 212-788-7617
Stacey Radnor: [email protected] or 202-870-6668
Lizzie Ulmer: [email protected] or 269-271-2331

SOURCE Mayors Against Illegal Guns

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