[The letter, which I have copied and pasted below, is at https://www.politico.com/f/?id=00000184-e0e1-da2c-a3af-fbe7fccc0000&nname=playbook&nid=0000014f-1646-d88f-a1cf-5f46b7bd0000&nrid=00000163-4f8a-db83-a167-4faf45b60000&nlid=630318]
December 5, 2022
The Honorable Charles Schumer Democratic Leader United States Senate Washington, DC 20510
The Honorable Mitch McConnell Republican Leader United States Senate Washington, DC 20510
Dear Leader Schumer and Leader McConnell:
As mayors of cities that have had mass shootings this year, we write to urge the Senate to pass during the lame duck session gun safety legislation that has passed the House and is currently pending in the Senate. We can tell you firsthand of the devastating impact these shootings have had on our residents and on our cities. While we will never recover from them completely, we must try to prevent them from happening in other cities in the future.
S.736, the Assault Weapons Ban, would ban the sale, import, manufacture or transfer of certain semi-automatic weapons, bump fire stocks, and high-capacity feeding devices. It would exempt from the ban all assault weapons lawfully possessed on the date of enactment and would not apply to antique firearms, manually operated firearms, and more than 2,000 specified models of hunting and sporting firearms. It does not in any way infringe on Second Amendment rights. Its companion bill, H.R. 1808, passed the House of Representatives on July 29.
S.529, the Background Check Expansion Act would close serious loopholes in the background check system by requiring all firearm purchases—both handguns and long guns—to undergo a NICS background check, help prevent dangerous individuals from circumventing the laws on the books and obtaining deadly weapons, reduce firearms trafficking by prohibiting unlicensed transfers through unregulated secondary sales, and aid law enforcement’s ability to trace crime guns, which depends on licensed gun dealers’ sales records. It’s companion bill, H.R. 8 passed the House on March 11, 2021.
Congress came together this summer to pass the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, and both of these bills passed the House with bipartisan support. More than 90 percent of Americans support expanding background checks. Two-thirds support a ban on assault weapons.
How much more death and destruction must our residents and our communities endure before the Senate acts? The time to pass the Assault Weapons Ban and the Background Check Expansion Act is now.
Sincerely,
Randall Woodfin Mayor of Birmingham, AL Steven Reed Mayor of Montgomery, AL Walter Maddox Mayor of Tuscaloosa, AL Frank D. Scott Jr. Mayor of Little Rock, AR Kate Gallego Mayor of Phoenix, AZ Jesse Arreguin Mayor of Berkeley, CA Lily Mei Mayor of Fremont, CA Jerry Dyer Mayor of Fresno, CA Eric Garcetti Mayor of Los Angeles, CA Lucas Ramirez Mayor of Mountain View, CA Darrell Steinberg Mayor of Sacramento, CA London N. Breed Mayor of San Francisco, CA Sam Liccardo Mayor of San Jose, CA Sue Himmelrich Mayor of Santa Monica, CA Lauren Meister Mayor of West Hollywood, CA Michael B. Hancock Mayor of Denver, CO Buddy Dyer Mayor of Orlando, FL Jane Castor Mayor of Tampa, FL Keith A. James Mayor of West Palm Beach, FL Andre Dickens Mayor of Atlanta, GA Hardie Davis Jr. Mayor of Augusta, GA Van R. Johnson II Mayor of Savannah, GA Lori E. Lightfoot Mayor of Chicago, IL Nancy Rodkin Rotering Mayor of Highland Park, IL Rita Ali Mayor of Peoria, IL Thomas P. McNamara Mayor of Rockford, IL James Brainard Mayor of Carmel, IN Jerome A. Prince Mayor of Gary, IN Joseph 'Joe' H. Hogsett Mayor of Indianapolis, IN Greg Fischer Mayor of Louisville, KY Sharon Weston Broome Mayor of Baton Rouge, LA Brandon M Scott Mayor of Baltimore, MD Marcus Muhammad Mayor of Benton Harbor, MI Andy Schor Mayor of Lansing, MI Emily Larson Mayor of Duluth, MN Jacob Frey Mayor of Minneapolis, MN Barbara Buffaloe Mayor of Columbia, MO Quinton Lucas Mayor of Kansas City, MO Tishaura O. Jones Mayor of St. Louis, MO Chokwe Antar Lumumba Esq. Mayor of Jackson, MS Esther E. Manheimer Mayor of Asheville, NC Elaine O'Neal Mayor of Durham, NC Nancy Vaughan Mayor of Greensboro, NC James Allen Joines Mayor of Winston-Salem, NC Tim Keller Mayor of Albuquerque, NM Alan Webber Mayor of Santa Fe, NM Debra March Mayor of Henderson, NV Kathy M. Sheehan Mayor of Albany, NY Byron W. Brown Mayor of Buffalo, NY Waylyn Hobbs Jr. Mayor of Hempstead, NY Eric L. Adams Mayor of New York, NY Malik Evans Mayor of Rochester, NY Aftab Pureval Mayor of Cincinnati, OH Justin Bibb Mayor of Cleveland, OH Andrew J. Ginther Jeffrey J. Mims Jr. Mayor of Dayton, OH Ted Wheeler Mayor of Portland, OR Jim Kenney Mayor of Philadelphia, PA Ed Gainey Mayor of Pittsburgh, PA John J. Tecklenburg Mayor of Charleston, SC Tim Kelly Mayor of Chattanooga, TN Indya Kincannon Mayor of Knoxville, TN Steve Adler Mayor of Austin, TX Ron Nirenberg Mayor of San Antonio, TX Michelle Davis-Younger Kenneth Cooper Alexander Mayor of Norfolk, VA Levar Stoney Mayor of Richmond, VA Bruce Harrell Mayor of Seattle, WA Victoria Woodards Mayor of Tacoma, WA John Martin Antaramian Mayor of Kenosha, WI Satya Rhodes-Conway Mayor of Madison, WI Cavalier Johnson Mayor of Milwaukee, WI Cory Mason Mayor of Racine, WI Tom Cochran CEO and Executive Director Mayor of Columbus, OH Mayor of Manassas, VA
Email to Mayors Woodfin, Reed and MaddoxFrom: Rob Shattuck <rdshatt@aol.com>
To: alice.williams@birminghamal.gov <alice.williams@birminghamal.gov>; mayor@montgomeryal.gov <mayor@montgomeryal.gov>; MAYOR@TUSCALOOSA.COM <MAYOR@TUSCALOOSA.COM>
Cc: cclinton.woods@birminghamal.gov, hunter.williams@birminghamal.gov, valerie.abbott@birminghamal.gov, jonathan.moore2@birminghamal.gov, Darrell.OQuinn@birminghamal.gov, crystal.smitherman@birminghamal.gov, wardine.alexander@birminghamal.gov, carol.clarke@birminghamal.gov, latonya.tate@birminghamal.gov, tysons@jccal.org, stephensj@jccal.org, KnightJoe@jccal.org, ammonss@jccal.org, scalesl@jccal.org, MWILSON@TUSCALOOSA.COM, RHOWARD@TUSCALOOSA.COM, NCROW@TUSCALOOSA.COM, LBUSBY@TUSCALOOSA.COM, KTYNER@TUSCALOOSA.COM, JFAILE@TUSCALOOSA.COM, CLANIER@TUSCALOOSA.COM, district1@tuscco.com, district2@tuscco.com, district3@tuscco.com, district4@tuscco.com, cjinright@montgomeryal.gov, cccalhoun@montgomeryal.gov, egrimes@montgomeryal.gov, blyons@montgomeryal.gov, mtjohnson@montgomeryal.gov, agraham@montgomeryal.gov, cmcinnis@montgomeryal.gov, gpruitt@montgomeryal.gov, danharris@mc-ala.org, carmenmoore-zeigler@mc-ala.org, rondawalker@mc-ala.org, isaiahsankey@mc-ala.org, dougsingleton@mc-ala.org,
Sent: Wed, Dec 14, 2022 8:31 am
Subject: Your mayors' letter to Leaders Schumer & McConnell re assault weapons ban
Dear Birmingham Mayor Woodfin, Montgomery Mayor Reed and Tuscaloosa Mayor Maddox:
You are among 70 U.S mayors who signed a letter to U.S. Senate Leaders Schumer and McConnell, urging passage of an assault weapons ban. Your letter can be found
here.
The letter says, "[The Assault Weapons Ban] does not in any way infringe on Second Amendment rights."
Second Amendment extremists will disagree, and they should be met head on.
I think the mantra
#GunsForSelfDefenseOnly would be helpful in meeting the Second Amendment extremists head on.
Earlier this month, the Brady United Against Gun Violence organization published in Roll Call an open letter to the United States Senate, signed by 50 healthcare professionals — including surgeons, pediatricians, emergency medicine doctors, and more — imploring the U.S. Senate to save lives by passing an assault weapons ban. That letter can be found at
https://www.bradyunited.org/act/thisisourlane#openletter.
I have emailed to the Brady legal team urging that, to defeat Second Amendment extremists, all advocacy for common sense gun solutions, such as banning assault weapons, should be bolted to the mantra
#GunsForSelfDefenseOnly. My email, and other material, can be found at
https://al6thcongdist-ihaveuntiljan13.blogspot.com/2022/12/brady-letter-to-us-senate-re-assault.html.
I hope you, and Birmingham, Montgomery and Tuscaloosa city councilors and county commissioners, will consider whether the mantra
#GunsForSelfDefenseOnly should be used at this time in shaping, advocating for, and defending in the courts, common sense solutions for reducing gun violence.
Thank you for your attention to this email.
Sincerely,
Rob Shattuck
Mountain Brook
Email to Alabama law enforcement, chambers of commerce and other interested partiesFrom: Rob Shattuck <rdshatt@aol.com>
To: logginsj@mtnbrook.org, drary@vhal.org, dalbert@montgomeryal.gov, canderson@auburnalabama.org, Bill.Partridge@OxfordAL.gov, shealey@opelika-al.gov, PoliceChief@HuntsvilleAL.gov, government.relations@alea.gov, alsheriffs@aol.com, aacop@aacop.com, pcheatwood@pelhamalabama.gov, jwiggins@irondalepolice.org, crigney@alabasterpolice.org, police@hooveralabama.gov, jlittleton@cityofmontevallo.com, cmorris@cityofpellcity.net, bpdsuggestions@birminghamal.gov, dcole@bcatoday.org, ejerkins@birminghambusinessalliance.com, director@homewoodchamber.org, chamber@vestaviahills.org, rfigh@montgomerychamber.com, chamberinfo@shelbychamber.net, pelhamchamberofcommerce@gmail.com, sandra@leedsareachamber.com, nhewston@mobilechamber.com, jim@westalabamachamber.com, alabama@momschapterleaders.org, jeffw@uab.edu, melie@uabmc.edu, mslay@uab.edu, eeaton@uab.edu, newhopebirmingham@gmail.com, pastortb@nrschurch.org, gmallisham@bcri.org, onoyemi@fiaal.org, fbcensley@gmail.com, dgreen@mtcfc.org, minister@uucbham.org, officestaff@faithchapel.net, katy@churchofthehighlands.com, ashfaq.taufique@bisweb.org, alabama@momschapterleaders.org, danaellis865@gmail.com,
Sent: Sun, Dec 18, 2022 8:57 am
Subject: Way forward to reduce gun violence is to tout #GunsForSelfDefenseOnly
Dear Alabama law enforcement, chambers of commerce and other interested parties:
Earlier this month, Birmingham Mayor Woodfin, Montgomery Mayor Reed and Tuscaloosa Mayor Maddox were among 70 U.S. mayors who signed a letter to Senate Leaders Schumer and McConnell, urging passage of the Assault Weapons Ban and the Background Check Expansion Act. Their letter can be found
here.
On Wednesday, I sent the below email to Mayors Woodfin, Reed and Maddox (which I copied to Birmingham, Montgomery and Tuscaloosa city councilors and county commissioners), urging that the mantra
#GunsForSelfDefenseOnly be used at this time in shaping, advocating for, and defending in the courts, common sense solutions for reducing gun violence.
I hope your desires for gun violence reduction in Alabama will lead you to think about whether the way forward for reducing gun violence is to use the mantra
#GunsForSelfDefenseOnly in shaping, advocating for, and defending in the courts, common sense solutions for reducing gun violence.
If you think that is the case, I hope you will communicate the same to Gov. Ivey, AG Marshall, your Alabama members of Congress, your state legislators in Montgomery, and your local Alabama mayors, city councilors and county commissioners.
Thank you for your attention to this email.
Sincerely,
Rob Shattuck
Mountain Brook
[referenced email to Mayors Woodfin, Reed and Maddox is above and not duplicated here]
