National League of Cities Calls on Congress and the Administration to Take Action to Reduce Gun Violence

KANSAS CITY, Mo., June 29, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In the wake of the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history – claiming the lives of 49 victims at an LGBT nightclub in Orlando, Florida – the National League of Cities (NLC) board of directors voted today to call on Congress and the administration to take action to reduce gun violence. Gathered in Kansas City for the organization's annual summer board and leadership meeting, the board passed a resolution that calls for funding additional mental health services, establishing a federal handgun registry, strengthening existing background check laws, reinstating an assault weapons ban, and granting cities greater regulatory authority over guns.

"Our nation is facing a devastating epidemic of gun violence. It is unconscionable that federal policymakers haven't taken commonsense steps to reduce gun violence as the country endures mass shootings on a regular basis," said Clarence E. Anthony, CEO and executive director of the National League of Cities (NLC). "Cities need our federal partners to do more than argue on the sidelines as gun violence grips our communities."

The board's action comes at a time of unprecedented gun violence in the U.S. Since January 2016, there have been 196 mass shootings involving four or more victims, killing 299 people and wounding 721. Looking at gun-related incidents as a whole, in the first six months of 2016 there have been more than 24,921 incidents, claiming the lives of 6,386, and wounding 13,176, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

NLC has been a longstanding advocate of making cities safer by calling on policymakers to require background checks for every gun transaction, regardless of where the gun is purchased. Last November, at NLC's annual convening in Nashville, Tennessee, NLC members passed Resolution 22, which called for legislation to require federally funded background checks on the purchase or transfer of all firearms.

The full resolution can be read here.

The National League of Cities (NLC) is dedicated to helping city leaders build better communities. NLC is a resource and advocate for 19,000 cities, towns and villages, representing more than 218 million Americans. www.nlc.org 

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SOURCE National League of Cities

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