KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City, Missouri, Mayor Quinton Lucas is one of more than 20 mayors advocating for more gun violence prevention at the national level.
In a letter to President Joe Biden, 27 mayors called reducing gun violence “a public health imperative” and urged the White House to support mental and community health initiatives, along with “enacting meaningful and common sense gun control legislation.”
“We are clear-eyed about the political challenges, but now more than ever, we need to continue this hard but necessary work,” the mayors wrote. “So many cities and towns are now dots on a map of mass shootings that could have been prevented if there was a federal web of uniform laws on background checks, eliminating access to guns for those who have a demonstrated history of mental illness or other disqualifying conditions, just to name a few.”
The mayors called for universal background checks, “adequate federal enforcement of existing law,” “regulatory and enforcement” actions for social media platforms where gun sales occur, as well as funding to purchase National Integrated Ballistic Information Network machines and hire additional firearms examiners.
Other mayors who signed on to the letter include:
- Nan Whaley, Dayton.
- Steve Adler, Austin.
- Jane Castor, Tampa.
- Greg Fischer, Louisville.
- Lori Lightfoot, Chicago.
- Muriel Bowers, Washington, D.C.
- Bill de Blasio, New York City.
- Kate Gallego, Phoenix.
- London Breed, San Francisco.
- Jenny Durkan, Seattle.
- Eric Garcetti, Los Angeles.
- Todd Gloria, San Diego.
- Kim Janey, Boston.
- Tishaura Jones, St. Louis.
- Keisha Lance Bottoms, Atlanta.
- Vi Lyles, Charlotte.
- Ted Wheeler, Portland.
- Michael Hancock, Denver.
- Eric Johnson, Dallas.
- Tim Keller, Albuquerque.
- Sam Liccardo, San Jose.
- Ron Nirenberg, San Antonia.
- Frank Jackson, Cleveland.
- VAn Johnson, SAvannah.
- Jim Kenney, Philadelphia.
- Sylvester Turner, Houston.
