Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition

The Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition is a coalition of mayors from 225 different United States cities, with a stated goal of "making the public safer by getting illegal guns off the streets."The group was formed on April 25, 2006, during a summit held at Gracie Mansion in New York City that was hosted by Boston Mayor Thomas Menino and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. However, Richard M. Daley still holds his position as the CEO of this coalition.

The initial group consisted of 15 mayors; the 15 drafted and signed a statement of principles [cite web| url=http://www.mayorsagainstillegalguns.org/html/about/principles.shtml| title=Mayors Against Illegal Guns: Coalition Principles Retrieved on June 12, 2007] and set a goal to expand their membership to 50 mayors by the end of 2006. That goal was met six months ahead of schedule, and led to its current membership of 225 mayors. [cite web| url=http://www.mayorsagainstillegalguns.org/html/about/members.shtml| title=Mayors Against Illegal Guns: Coalition Members Retrieved on June 12, 2007]

The Coalition contains mayors from both major political parties, and its statement of principles has received the endorsement of the U.S. Conference of Mayors and the National Conference of Black MayorsCite web|url=http://www.mayorsagainstillegalguns.org/html/about/history.shtml|title=Coalition History|accessdate=2007-06-06|publisher=Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition|year=2006] .

Origin

Mayors Against Illegal Guns is funded in part by a $175,000 grantCite web|url=http://www.joycefdn.org/News/NewsDetails.aspx?NewsId=130|title=Mayors Take on Illegal Guns|accessdate=2007-06-06|publisher=The Joyce Foundation|year=2006] from the Joyce Foundation, a Chicago-based non-profit organization which supports gun control measures.Cite news|url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,33361,00.html|title=Gun Panel Meets and Comes Under Fire|accessdate=2007-04-11|publisher=FoxNews.com|year=2001] .

Tiahrt Amendment

One of the primary goals of the organization is to undo the Tiahrt Amendment. Since its passage in 2003 as an amendment to an appropriations bill, the Amendment has forbidden the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives *(ATF) from releasing information from its firearms trace database to anyone other than a law enforcement agency or prosecutor in connection with a criminal investigation, and any data so released is deemed inadmissible in a civil lawsuit. [ [http://www.protectpolice.org/docs/tiahrt_amendment.pdf Full text of current Tiahrt Amendment] From ProtectPolice.org, a project of Mayors Against Illegal Guns.] The mayors contend that the Amendment restricts access of cities and law enforcement to gun trace data, hindering municipal police departments' ability to track down sellers of illegal guns. [Knight, Healther (June 19, 2007) [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/06/19/BAGHNQHIOB1.DTL "Mayors Fight Gun Measure."] "San Francisco Chronicle".] Mayor Bloomberg has called the Amendment "an insult to the thousands of police officers that face the threat of illegal guns." [cite web| url=http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/07/10/264362.aspx| title=msnbc.msn.com Retrieved on July 10, 2007] During a breakfast meeting sponsored by the "Lady's Home Journal," Bloomberg called the Fraternal Order of Police a "fringe organization" after it opposed his efforts to repeal the Tiahrt Amendment. "I would say resident within the Fraternal Order of Police is far more expertise with the administration of justice than Mayor Bloomberg's limited experience in that area," said James Pasco, the group's executive director. [ [http://www.nypost.com/seven/05102007/news/regionalnews/n_y__triggers_gun_stings_nationwide_regionalnews_david_seifman_____city_hall_bureau_chief.htm N.Y. Triggers Gun Stings Nationwide, The New York Post, May 10, 2007 By: David Seifman]

In July, 2007, after the House Appropriations Committee rebuffed attempts to repeal the amendment, the Senate Appropriations Committee went further, approving a bill that, according to the "New York Times," "threatens law enforcement officials with prison time for using gun tracing data beyond a specific investigation, say, for identifying and targeting trafficking patterns." [cite web| url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/17/opinion/17tue3.html?_r=1&oref=slogin| title=The New York Times Retrieved on July 17, 2007]

Criticism and Controversy

The ATF, along with the Fraternal Order of Police [ [http://info.grandlodgefop.org/servlet/display/news_article?id=441&XSL=xsl_pages%2fpublic_news_individual.xsl&nocache=13240303 News Item ] ] and the Southern States Police Benevolent Association [http://www.nraila.org/media/PDFs/ssbenevolent.pdf] oppose repealing the Tiahrt Amendment.

Five mayors have withdrawn from the organization, claiming that they were misled about the group's anti-gun platform. [Mayor Withdraws from anti-gun coalition, The Indianapolis Star, June 27, 2007 By: Tania E. Lopez http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070627/LOCAL0101/706270329/1015/LOCAL01] [Letter to the Editor, Anchorage Daily News, February 4, 2007 by Mayor Mark Begich http://www.adn.com/opinion/letters/story/8614932p-8507468c.html] [An Idaho Mayor Withdraws From Bloomberg's Gun Group, The New York Sun, January 17, 2007 By: Bradley Hope http://www.nysun.com/article/46799] They are: Idaho Falls Mayor Jared Fuhriman; Carmel, Indiana Mayor James Brainard; Rio Rancho, New Mexico Mayor Kevin Jackson;
Anchorage, Alaska Mayor Mark Begich; and Oldmans Township, New Jersey Mayor Harry Moore [ [http://sev.prnewswire.com/sports/20070709/NYM15609072007-1.html National Shooting Sports Foundation :: Firearms Industry Hails New Jersey Mayor Following Resignation from Bloomberg Coalition ] ] .

Mayor Bloomberg has been criticized by Virginia's Attorney General, Robert F. McDonnell, for sending private investigators to conduct "sting" operations of gun shops in the Commonwealth without coordinating these investigations with state or Federal law enforcement agencies, thereby possibly compromising on-going investigations. In reaction to these "sting" operations, the state legislature passed legislation making it a felony to engage in private investigations of gun shops without state or Federal law enforcement officials present. [Va. Tells NYC to Stop Gun Stings, Washington Post, pg. A01, May 10, 2007 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/09/AR2007050902573.html]

After the indictment, arrest, and subsequent jailing of Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms has called on Kilpatrick to resign from the Coalition. [ [http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/bloomberg-anti-gun-soul-mate-kilpatrick-now/story.aspx?guid={4D97B9A9-CC96-4AEE-9547-8047955BB209}&dist=hppr Bloomberg Anti-Gun "Soul-Mate" Kilpatrick Now a Cellmate; Should Resign, Says CCRKBA - MarketWatch ] ]

Participating Mayors

The following list is complete as of June, 2007.

Alabama
*Mayor Samuel L. Jones, Mobile

Arkansas
*Mayor Dan Coody, Fayetteville
*Mayor Patrick Hays, North Little Rock

California
*Mayor Todd Campbell, Burbank
*Mayor Daniel E. Furtado, Campbell
*Mayor Cheryl Cox, Chula Vista
*Mayor Kris Wang, Cupertino
*Mayor Robert Wasserman, Fremont
*Mayor Gary Plass, Healdsburg
*Mayor Beth Krom, Irvine
*Mayor H. Manuel Ortiz, Irwindale
*Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Los Angeles
*Mayor Rob Schroder, Martinez
*Mayor Steve Cottrell, Nevada City
*Mayor Ron Dellums, Oakland
*Mayor Steven Glazer, Orinda
*Mayor Pamela Torliatt, Petaluma
*Mayor David Durant, Pleasant Hill
*Mayor Jennifer Hosterman, Pleasanton
*Mayor Thomas D. Long, Rancho Palos Verdes
*Mayor Gayle McLaughlin, Richmond
*Mayor Heather Fargo, Sacramento
*Mayor Patrick J. Morris, San Bernardino
*Mayor Jerry Sanders, San Diego
*Mayor Gavin Newsom, San Francisco
*Mayor Chuck Reed, San Jose
*Mayor Miguel Pulido, Santa Ana
*Mayor Marty Blum, Santa Barbara
*Mayor Joseph D. Serrano, Sr., Santa Fe Springs
*Mayor Bob Blanchard, Santa Rosa
*Mayor Paul Miller, Simi Valley
*Mayor Edward Chavez, Stockton
*Mayor Otto O. Lee, Sunnyvale
*Mayor Morris Vance, Vista
*Mayor Antonio "Tony" Cartegena, Walnut
*Mayor Christopher Cabaldon, West Sacramento

Colorado
*Mayor John Hickenlooper, Denver

Connecticut

*Mayor John Fabrizi, Bridgeport
*Mayor Eddie Perez, Hartford
*Mayor John DeStefano, Jr., New Haven
*Mayor Richard Moccia, Norwalk
*Mayor Dannel Malloy, Stamford
*Mayor Scott Slifka, West Hartford

Delaware

*Mayor Vance A. Funk, III, Newark
*Mayor James M. Baker, Wilmington

District of Columbia

*Mayor Adrian Fenty, Washington

Florida

*Mayor Scott J. Brook, Coral Springs
*Mayor Joy Cooper, Hallandale Beach
*Mayor Julio Robaina, Hialeah
*Mayor Mara Giulianti, Hollywood
*Mayor Manuel Diaz, Miami
*Mayor Kevin Burns, North Miami
*Mayor Buddy Dyer, Orlando
*Mayor Fred Costello, Ormond Beach
*Mayor Frank C. Ortis, Pembroke Pines
*Mayor Patricia Christensen, Port St. Lucie
*Mayor John Marks, III, Tallahassee
*Mayor Beth Talabisco, Tamarac

Georgia

*Mayor Heidi Davison, Athens-Clarke County
*Mayor Shirley Franklin, Atlanta
*Mayor Jack Ellis, Macon
*Mayor Jere Wood, Roswell

Hawaii

*Mayor Mufi Hannemann, Honolulu

Illinois

*Mayor Richard M. Daley (CEO), Chicago
*Mayor Lorraine H. Morton, Evanston
*Mayor Rita L. Mullins, Palatine
*Mayor John A. Spring, Quincy
*Mayor Lawrence Morrissey, Rockford
*Mayor Richard H. Hyde, Waukegan

Indiana

*Mayor Graham Richard, Fort Wayne
*Mayor Stephen Luecke, South Bend

Iowa

*Mayor Kay Halloran, Cedar Rapids
*Mayor Edwin Winborn, Davenport
*Mayor T.M. Franklin Cownie, Des Moines

Kentucky

*Mayor Elaine Walker, Bowling Green
*Mayor Butch Callery, Covington
*Mayor Jerry Abramson, Louisville
*Mayor Thomas L. Guidugli, Newport

Louisiana

*Mayor Melvin "Kip" Holden, Baton Rouge
*Mayor Ray Nagin, New Orleans
*Mayor Cedric B. Glover, Shreveport

Maine

*Mayor Nicholas Mavodones, Jr., Portland

Maryland

*Mayor Ellen Moyer, Annapolis
*Mayor Sheila Dixon, Baltimore

Massachusetts

*Mayor Tom Menino (Co-Chair), Boston
*Mayor James E. Harrington, Brockton
*Mayor Kenneth Reeves, Cambridge
*Mayor Jim Fiorentini, Haverhill
*Mayor Michael J. Sullivan, Holyoke
*Mayor Clare Higgins, Northampton
*Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone, Somerville
*Mayor Charles V. Ryan, Springfield

Michigan

*Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, Detroit

Minnesota

*Mayor Steve Lampi, Brooklyn Park
*Mayor Gary F. Van Eyll, Chaska
*Mayor Herb W. Bergson, Duluth
*Mayor R.T. Rybak, Minneapolis
*Mayor Rob Marty, Mounds View
*Mayor Chris Coleman, St. Paul
*Mayor Mark Schiffman, Waconia
*Mayor Andrew G. Humphrey, Wayzata

Mississippi

*Mayor Johnny DuPree, Hattiesburg
*Mayor Frank Melton, Jackson
*Mayor Phillip West, Natchez
*Mayor Matthew J. Avara, Pascagoula

Missouri

*Mayor Francis Slay, St. Louis

Montana

*Mayor Ron Tussing, Billings

Nebraska

*Mayor Colleen Seng, Lincoln
*Mayor Mike Fahey, Omaha

New Jersey

*Mayor Kevin G. Sanders, Asbury Park
*Mayor Joseph Doria, Bayonne
*Mayor Jason J. Varano, Berkeley Township
*Mayor Sophie Heymann, Closter
*Mayor James A. Gallos, Milford
*Mayor Pasquale Menna, Red Bank
*Mayor Emilia M. Siciliano, Shrewsbury
*Mayor Barry H. Zagnit, Spotswood
*Mayor Betty Simmons, Victory Gardens
*Mayor Gwendolyn Faison, Camden
*Mayor Carol Foster, Corbin City
*Mayor Chester Riland, Downe Township
*Mayor Joseph R. Smith, East Newark
*Mayor Robert L. Bowser, East Orange
*Mayor J. Christian Bollwage, Elizabeth
*Mayor David Delle Donna, Guttenberg
*Mayor Beth Ann Haven, Haddon Heights
*Mayor Glen Gilmore, Hamilton Township (Mercer)
*Mayor Meryl Frank, Highland Park
*Mayor Wayne Smith, Irvington
*Mayor Jerramiah Healy, Jersey City
*Mayor Brian A. Reid, Lacey Township
*Mayor Eugene Kulick, Little Falls
*Mayor Frank W. Minor, Logan Township
*Mayor Walt Craig, Lower Township
*Mayor Michael Fressola, Manchester Township
*Mayor Donald Cresitello, Morristown
*Mayor David Scapicchio, Mount Olive
*Mayor James Manning Jr., Neptune Township
*Mayor Cory Booker, Newark
*Mayor Peter C. Massa, North Arlington
*Mayor Randy George, North Haledon
*Mayor Michael Luther, Parsippany-Troy Hills
*Mayor Samuel Rivera, Passaic
*Mayor Jose Torres, Paterson
*Mayor Harry L. Wyant, Phillipsburg
*Mayor Mohamed Khairullah, Prospect Park
*Mayor Earl Gage, Salem
*Mayor Douglas Palmer, Trenton
*Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh, West Windsor Township
*Mayor John E. McCormac, Woodbridge Township

New Mexico

*Mayor David Coss, Santa Fe

New York

*Mayor Gerald Jennings, Albany
*Mayor Byron Brown, Buffalo
*Mayor Ernest Davis, Mount Vernon
*Mayor Noam Bramson, New Rochelle
*Mayor Michael Bloomberg (Co-Chair), New York
*Mayor Robert Duffy, Rochester
*Mayor Matthew Driscoll, Syracuse
*Mayor Phil Amicone, Yonkers

North Carolina

*Mayor Terry Bellamy, Asheville
*Mayor Kevin Foy, Chapel Hill
*Mayor Bill Bell, Durham
*Mayor Keith Holliday, Greensboro
*Mayor Charles Meeker, Raleigh

North Dakota

*Mayor Dennis Walaker, Fargo

Ohio

*Mayor Dan Pillow, Addyston
*Mayor Don Plusquellic, Akron
*Mayor Joseph Harper, Arlington Heights
*Mayor Mark Mallory, Cincinnati
*Mayor Frank G. Jackson, Cleveland
*Mayor Danny Stacy, Cleves
*Mayor Michael B. Coleman, Columbus
*Mayor Rhine McLin, Dayton
*Mayor Theodore Shannon, Fairfax
*Mayor Jim Lawler, Forest Park
*Mayor Thomas J. Longo, Garfield Heights
*Mayor Joseph C. Hubbard, Glendale
*Mayor Alan Zaffiro, Golf Manor
*Mayor Daniel Gieringer, Harrison
*Mayor Deborah Seay, Lincoln Heights
*Mayor Jim Brown, Lockland
*Mayor Lydia J. Reid, Mansfield
*Mayor Michael O. Ciaravino, Maple Heights
*Mayor Thomas E. O'Grady, North Olmsted
*Mayor Judith Rawson, Shaker Heights
*Mayor John Smith, Silverton
*Mayor Jay Williams, Youngstown
*Mayor Barry Porter, Wyoming

Oklahoma

*Mayor Kathy Taylor, Tulsa

Oregon

*Mayor Robert Drake, Beaverton

Pennsylvania

*Mayor Ed Pawlowski, Allentown
*Mayor John Callahan, Bethlehem
*Mayor Joseph Sinnott, Erie
*Mayor Rick Gray, Lancaster
*Mayor John Street, Philadelphia
*Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, Pittsburgh
*Mayor Tom McMahon, Reading
*Mayor John S. Brenner, York

Rhode Island

*Mayor David Cicilline, Providence

South Carolina

*Mayor Joseph Riley, Charleston

South Dakota

*Mayor Dave Munson, Sioux Falls

Tennessee

*Mayor Bill Haslam, Knoxville
*Mayor Tom Beehan, Oak Ridge
*Mayor A. C. Wharton, Shelby County

Texas

*Mayor Will Wynn, Austin
*Mayor Bill White, Houston
*Mayor Richard Ward, Hurst

Utah

*Mayor Rocky Anderson, Salt Lake City

Vermont

*Mayor Bob Kiss, Burlington

Virginia

*Mayor William Euille, Alexandria
*Mayor Paul D. Fraim, Norfolk
*Mayor Annie M. Mickens, Petersburg
*Mayor James W. Holley III, Portsmouth
*Mayor L. Douglas Wilder, Richmond

Washington

*Mayor Peter B. Lewis, Auburn
*Mayor Greg Nickels, Seattle
*Mayor Bill Baarsma, Tacoma

Wisconsin

*Mayor James Schmitt, Green Bay
*Mayor John M. Antaramian, Kenosha
*Mayor Dave Cieslewicz, Madison
*Mayor Tom Barrett, Milwaukee
*Mayor Gary Becker, Racine
*Mayor Larry Nelson, Waukesha
*Mayor Theresa M. Estness, Wauwatosa

External links

* [http://www.mayorsagainstillegalguns.org Mayors Against Illegal Guns]
* [http://www.mikebloomberg.com Mayor Michael Bloomberg's homepage]
* [http://www.cityofboston.gov/mayor/ Office of the Mayor of Boston]

References