Cong. Elijah Commings To Present National Press Club Newsmaker "Reality Check On Congressional Gun Legislation" 10am Tues. April 2

House Ranking Member on Government Oversight and Reform Committee and Bill author

WASHINGTON, March 28, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Congressman Elijah Cummings (D-Baltimore) will present a National Press Club Newsmaker, "A Reality Check on Congressional Gun Legislation," at 10AM Tuesday, April 2, in the Zenger Room.  The National Press Club is located at 14th and F Streets NW, and the Zenger Room is on the 13th Floor.

Cummings is the Ranking Member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and former Chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus.  He is urging bipartisan legislation, now with more than 100 cosponsors, on gun trafficking legislation, of which he is a prime author.  Cummings takes the gun safety issue personally and points to his nephew, 20, who was found murdered by gunshot in a random act near Old Dominion University, where he was a student.

Despite projections of prompt congressional action after the December 14, 2012 Newtown, CT massacre of 26 people including 20 first graders 7 years old and under, neither chamber has moved to final passage. President Obama insisted in his State of the Union Address February 12 that the victims of mass gun violence including those in Newtown CT, Aurora CO, and elsewhere, and former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords (D-AZ), "deserve a vote."  President Obama designated Vice President Joe Biden to chair a White House task force which resulted in executive orders and is urging gun safety legislation including an assault weapons ban, limits on magazine capacity, universal background checks, and mental health monitoring and assistance. Cummings will discuss the state of congressional action and substance of the gun trafficking legislation as well as other pending bills.

Cummings represents Maryland's 7th  district including Baltimore City, Baltimore County, and Howard County. In addition to his leadership positions on the Oversight and Government Reform Committee and the Congressional Black Caucus, he is a member of the Joint Economic Committee and the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and was Chairman of the Congressional Caucus on Drug Policy. Elected to the U.S. House in 1996 after serving in the Maryland House of Delegates for 14 years, he was the first African American in Maryland history to be named the Maryland House Speaker pro Tempore, the second highest office. He states that he has "dedicated his life of service to uplifting and empowering people."

The event is being organized and hosted by the National Press Club Newsmakers Committee.

More information: Event coordinator Bob Weiner 301-283-0821, cell 202-306-1200 weinerpublic@comcast.net

Contact: Bob Weiner and Richard Mann 301-283-0821/202-329-1700

SOURCE Robert Weiner Associates