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Gun Control Advocates Heading to Washington
By Susan Jones
CNSNews.com Senior Editor
January 22, 2007
(CNSNews.com) - Gun control advocates want their Democratic allies to pass legislation targeting gun dealers who send illegal guns onto the streets.
"Congress needs to give law enforcement the tools it needs to crack down on the prime suppliers of illegal guns -- rogue gun dealers who enable gun traffickers to conduct their deadly business," Paul Helmke, president of the Brady Center, said in a press release on Monday.
It's a "new day in Washington," Helmke observed. "The flaws in federal law that protect corrupt gun dealers could be easily fixed if the new Congress embraces the public's interest and listens to the concerns of the nation's mayors."
The Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition, formed last year, is holding its national summit in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, Jan. 23 -- one day before the winter meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors.
According to the group's website, the coalition now includes 123 mayors. Among other things, those mayors want to crack down on "irresponsible gun dealers."
The mayors also want the federal government to share gun-trace data with cities. Gun trace data -- information that traces guns back to their original point of sale - would be used in civil suits against firearms industry.
On Monday, the day before the national summit of anti-gun mayors, the Brady Center unveiled a report called "Shady Dealings: Illegal Gun Trafficking from Licensed Gun Dealers."
The Brady Center said the report documents more than two dozen cases of illegal gun trafficking involving dealers across the country.
It says in each case, gunrunners were prosecuted but the dealers who supplied them were not.
The report was released Monday morning in Philadelphia, "a city that is suffering from profound gun violence," according to the Brady Center.
By Susan Jones
CNSNews.com Senior Editor
January 22, 2007
(CNSNews.com) - Gun control advocates want their Democratic allies to pass legislation targeting gun dealers who send illegal guns onto the streets.
"Congress needs to give law enforcement the tools it needs to crack down on the prime suppliers of illegal guns -- rogue gun dealers who enable gun traffickers to conduct their deadly business," Paul Helmke, president of the Brady Center, said in a press release on Monday.
It's a "new day in Washington," Helmke observed. "The flaws in federal law that protect corrupt gun dealers could be easily fixed if the new Congress embraces the public's interest and listens to the concerns of the nation's mayors."
The Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition, formed last year, is holding its national summit in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, Jan. 23 -- one day before the winter meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors.
According to the group's website, the coalition now includes 123 mayors. Among other things, those mayors want to crack down on "irresponsible gun dealers."
The mayors also want the federal government to share gun-trace data with cities. Gun trace data -- information that traces guns back to their original point of sale - would be used in civil suits against firearms industry.
On Monday, the day before the national summit of anti-gun mayors, the Brady Center unveiled a report called "Shady Dealings: Illegal Gun Trafficking from Licensed Gun Dealers."
The Brady Center said the report documents more than two dozen cases of illegal gun trafficking involving dealers across the country.
It says in each case, gunrunners were prosecuted but the dealers who supplied them were not.
The report was released Monday morning in Philadelphia, "a city that is suffering from profound gun violence," according to the Brady Center.