Father Of Newtown Victim, Survivors Of Tucson Mass Shooting, Mayor Rothschild, And Advocates To Voice Support For Common-Sense Background Checks

July 5th Event is Part of "No More Names: National Drive to Reduce Gun Violence" Bus Tour; www.NoMoreNames.org

***MEDIA AND EVENT ADVISORY***

TUCSON, Ariz., July 3, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- On Friday, July 5th, the father of a 6-year-old Newtown victim, survivors of the 2011 mass shooting in Tucson, Mayor Jonathan Rothschild, City Council members, law enforcement, faith leaders, and local advocates will gather in Tucson 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 Friday to voice their continued support for comprehensive and enforceable background checks that save lives by keeping guns out of the wrong hands.

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 – which also drew support from Senator John McCain – would have closed this dangerous loophole by extending background checks to commercial gun sales. But a minority of senators – including Senator Jeff Flake – voted to block this common-sense measure.

More than 90 percent of Americans – including 90 percent of Arizonans – support background checks for all gun sales, making Washington's inaction on this critical legislation all the more stunning.

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: Father of a Newtown victim, survivors of the 2011 Tucson mass shooting, Mayor Jonathan Rothschild, City Council members, law enforcement, faith leaders, and local advocates to gather in Tucson to voice their support for common-sense background checks that help save lives

Who:  
- Neil Heslin, whose son Jesse Lewis was murdered with a gun in Newtown

- Tucson Mayor Jonathan Rothschild, a member of Mayors Against Illegal Guns

- Bill Badger, a survivor of the 2011 Tucson mass shooting

- Pat Maisch, a survivor of the 2011 Tucson mass shooting

- Suzi Hileman, a survivor of the 2011 Tucson mass shooting

- Randy Friese, trauma surgeon to Congresswoman Gabby Giffords

- Captain Perry Tarrant of the Tucson Police Department

- Lisa Kiser, a survivor of the University of Arizona School of Nursing shooting

- Tucson City Council Members Steve Kozachik and Karin Uhlich

- Jocelyn Strauss, Tucson chapter leader of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense

- Clark Romans, National Association of Mental Illness

- Father Troutman, St. Odilia Church

Where:
St. Odilia Church 
7570 North Paseo Del Norte 
Tucson, Arizona

When:
Friday, July 5^th 
Press Conference begins in the Prayer Garden at 7:00 p.m.

*For interview requests in advance and on-site, please contact John Duckwitz at 540-878-1136

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

John Duckwitz: [email protected] or 540-878-1136

Christina Martinez: [email protected] or 602-316-9732

Dana Kennedy: [email protected]

SOURCE Mayors Against Illegal Guns

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