Statement Of Mayors Against Illegal Guns Co-Chairs On U.S. Appellate Court Decision To Uphold ATF Reporting Requirement On Multiple Sales Of Semiautomatic Assault Rifles In Border States

NEW YORK, June 3, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following the U.S. Court of Appeals decision to uphold the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives' (ATF) requirement that dealers in four southwest border states report multiple sales of semiautomatic assault rifles, the co-chairs of Mayors Against Illegal Guns – New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino – issued the following statement:

"The ATF's program requiring dealers to report multiple sales of semiautomatic rifles in four southwest border states, based on a 2009 proposal by Mayors Against Illegal Guns, has generated useful intelligence on illegal gun trafficking by Mexican drug cartels, while imposing minimal burden on gun dealers and law-abiding gun owners. Every court that has addressed the issue has found that this program is well within the ATF's authority under federal law, and so it is expected but welcome news that the appellate court unanimously agrees. Semiautomatic rifles sold by U.S. dealers near the border are disproportionately fueling Mexican cartel violence and directly facilitating the smuggling of drugs into our country. During its first eight months, the program recommended the prosecution of more than 100 defendants for firearms-related charges, and the continued operation of this program will help lock up more criminals and save more lives."

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

Contact: 
Mayor Bloomberg's Press Office          (212) 788-2958
Mayor Menino's Press Office               (617) 635-4461

CONTACT
Alex Katz: [email protected] or 212-788-7617

SOURCE Mayors Against Illegal Guns

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