New Bedford mayor Jon Mitchell Boston

Mayor Mitchell Speaks Out in Boston on Gun Reform

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New Bedford mayor Jon Mitchell BostonMayor Jon Mitchell joined mayors from across the state in Boston last week to discuss ways to mobilize constituents and communities behind common sense gun reforms. Led by Boston Mayor Tom Menino, the group of mayors are members of Mayors Against Illegal Guns (MAIG). MAIG is a coalition of more than 800 mayors nationwide and has more than a million supporters.

Mayor Mitchell, a formal federal prosecutor for nearly a decade, spoke out on the need for reform, “I don’t accept the notion that there is nothing we can do to reduce gun violence and tragedies like Newtown. There are plenty of common sense measures that could make a big difference.”

Mayors Against Illegal Guns advocates for a common sense agenda that will make it more difficult for dangerous individuals to purchase guns and easier for police and prosecutors to stop them. The mayors are calling on Congress to pass legislation that will:

· Require every gun buyer to pass a criminal background check
· Get military-style assault weapons and high-capacity magazines off our streets
· Make gun trafficking a federal crime
· Strengthen the penalties for straw purchase of guns.

In the wake of the horrific tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut, Mayors Against Illegal Guns sent an open letter to the President and Congress calling for immediate action to reduce gun violence.

The letter stated, “We believe that with this latest national tragedy and the high incidence of gun violence that continues to plague our streets, we have reached a tipping point. The nation’s mayors pledge to work with you to build a safer America for our children and all of our citizens.”

The mayors acknowledged that stemming the tide of gun violence will take much more than just strengthening our gun laws. “We need to reverser the culture of violence in our nation do that a violent act isn’t the first response to settling a difference or compensating for a wrong.” They added, “We need to strengthen and more adequately fund our mental health system so that we can identify troubled individuals earlier and get them the help they need.” The nation’s mayors pledged to work with the President and Congress to build a safer America for everyone.

About Michael Silvia

Served 20 years in the United States Air Force. Owner of New Bedford Guide.

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One comment

  1. I’m all for trying to stem the violence in our city’s. I’m also all for getting guns off the streets of our city. But if our elected officials think that by going after legal law-abiding citizens,making it harder for them to own guns,taking away their choice to own the weapon of their choosing, if they think this is the key to solving violence, they are kidding themselves and it just shows ,they are NOT serious about crime and criminals. How about making stiffer and longer penalties for crimes committed with guns.And also if you get caught with an illegal weapon. How about changing the judicial system so that if you get caught in the act of a crime and you have an illegal weapon, there will be no deals for you ,no pleading the crime down so that you get out in 6mo. for a crime that you should get 10 or 15 years for. How about laws that prohibit judges from giving you a lenient sentence for any violent crime regardless of who you are or how many times you have done it .If you want to show the people you are serving that you REALLY want to stop violent crime, then REALLY do something! Don’t just do the stuff that’s easy for you like going after law abiding citizens that have already gone through the ringer for a legal license. Go after the tough answers to solve the problem. The tough answers are usually the right ones to make the problem go away. It just seems our elected officials don’t want to go down that road because its too tough and too much work. When politicians start traveling down that road to fight violent crime only THEN will i believe that they SERIOUSLY want to do something about violent crimes in our cities

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