PRESS RELEASE
Mayor Gavin Buckley
Public Information Office
160 Duke of Gloucester Street
Annapolis, Maryland 21401
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Media Contact: Mitchelle Stephenson, 410-972-7724 or mwstephenson@annapolis.gov
Mayor Gavin Buckley and Annapolis Police Chief Edward Jackson Support US Conference of Mayors/Chiefs of Police Push for Stalled Federal Gun Legislation to Move Forward
ANNAPOLIS, MD (November 7, 2019) – Last week, the U.S. Conference of Mayors President, Mayor Bryan Barnett of Rochester Hills, Michigan, along with the Major Cities Chiefs Association President Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo, sent a letter to the United States Senate, urging Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to consider legislation that would ensure all firearms purchases go through background checks.
Annapolis Mayor Gavin Buckley and Annapolis Police Chief Edward Jackson fully endorse this request for the Senate to call for a vote on HR 8/SR 42, also known as the “Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2019.” The legislation is co-sponsored in the Senate by Maryland Sens. Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen.
“Americans overwhelmingly endorse background checks,” said Mayor Buckley. “We have to move this nation forward. It is time to turn the page on the stranglehold the NRA has on legislators and the United States Senate. We have to do this for our children. I urge Senator McConnell to call this bill for a vote.”
Chief Jackson added, “I agree with Mayor Buckley. This is not feel-good legislation. It is a strong bill. It was passed by the House in February and will help communities, including Annapolis, fight the scourge of everyday gun violence. Our police officers respond to calls of homicides by shooting, but we also respond to shots fired and suicides and they are all devastating to the well-being of our community and our officers. I hope the Senate will end this delay.”
Earlier this year, the U.S. Conference of Mayors passed a series of resolutions to address gun violence, including one on background checks. In September, Mayor Buckley and others from the U.S. Conference of Mayors marched on Washington with participants from Moms Demand Action and Everytown for Gun Safety to ask the Senate to act on stalled gun legislation that had crossed over from the House.
Annapolis was the site of a mass shooting in June 2018 when five journalists at the Capital Gazette newspaper were killed in their workplace. The shooter recently pleaded guilty to the charges. The second phase of the trial to test an insanity defense is planned for 2020.
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