Mayors Against Illegal Guns To Deliver 1.75 Million Petitions Demanding Action On Gun Violence To U.S. Senators Tomorrow

***MEDIA ADVISORY***

Gun Violence Survivors, Law Enforcement Officials, Faith Leaders and Supporters Will Hand Deliver Petitions to Members of Congress And Call on Them to Support Commonsense Reforms When They Return to Washington Next Week; www.DemandAction.org

NEW YORK, April 4, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- More than 1.75 million petitions demanding political leaders take action to prevent gun violence will be delivered to Senators in all 50 states tomorrow.  Tens of thousands of these petitions will be hand-delivered at petition drop-off events across the country where gun violence survivors, law enforcement officials faith leaders and others will urge Senators to support commonsense gun reforms when they return to Washington next week.   The petition can be viewed here: www.DemandAction.org/Petition

As national lawmakers have been back in their home states and districts on recess the past two weeks, Mayors Against Illegal Guns has continued its push for sensible gun laws by airing ads in key states featuring a gun owner, Newtown families and highlighting the disturbing link between weak gun laws and violence against women.  The coalition also organized more than 140 events across the country featuring mayors, faith leaders, moms, law enforcement officials, gun violence survivors and family members of victims who spoke out about the need for comprehensive and enforceable background checks.  These activities are part of the largest field campaign in U.S. history to address gun violence.  The coalition recently announced that it has hired organizers and opened campaign offices in ten key states. 

List of petition delivery events happening across the country on Friday, April 5 (all times local):

ARIZONA

Phoenix
What:   Petition Delivery to Senator Flake (25,988 Petitions)
Who:    Alex Teves, father of son Alex Teves who was gunned down in Aurora theater shooting
            Pat Maisch, Tucson shooting survivor
            Morgan Abraham, University of Arizona Student Body President
            Chris Kitaeff, licensed firearms dealer, Arizonians for Gun Safety board member
            Ellen Davis, concerned Arizonan
When:  10:00 AM
Where: Outside of Senator Flake's office, 2200 E. Camelback Road, Suite 120

Tucson
What:   Petition Delivery to Senator McCain (25,988 Petitions)
Who:    Ken Dorushka, Tucson shooting survivor
            Nancy Bowman, Tucson shooting survivor
            Daniel Hernandez, Jr., Tucson shooting survivor
When: 10:00 AM
Where: Outside of Senator McCain's office, 407 W Congress St. #103

Tucson
What:   Petition Delivery to Senator Flake (25,988 Petitions)
Who:    Ken Dorushka, Tucson shooting survivor
            Nancy Bowman, Tucson shooting survivor
            Daniel Hernandez, Jr., Tucson shooting survivor
When:  3:30 PM
Where: Outside of Senator Flakes's office, 6840 Oracle Road, Suite 150

COLORADO

Denver
What:   Petition Delivery to Senator Udall and Senator Bennet (27,307 Petitions)
Who:    Karina Vargas, gun violence survivor and community members
When:  10:30 AM
Where: Senator Michael Bennet's office, 1127 Sherman St. #150

GEORGIA

Atlanta
What:   Petition Delivery to Senator Isakson and Senator Chambliss (36,429 Petitions)
Who:    Advocates and survivors of gun violence
When:  11:00 AM
Where: Office of Senator Isakson, 3625, Cumberland Blvd., Suite 970

INDIANA

Indianapolis
What:   Petition Delivery to Senator Coats and Senator Donnelly (20,964 Petitions)
Who:   Renita Hills, gun violence survivor and Voice of the Victim representative
When:  1:00 PM
Where:  Panera Bread, 110 West Washington St.

MAINE

Portland
What:   Petition Delivery to Senator King (6,391 Petitions)
Who:    Judi and Wayne Richardson, parents of Darien Richardson
When:  2:30 PM
Where: Senator King's Office, 2 Canal Plaza

NEVADA

Las Vegas
What:   Petition Delivery to Senator Reid and Senator Heller (9,646 Petitions)
Who:    Linda Cavazos, local therapist
            Teresa Crawford, registered nurse
            Brian Fadie, Executive Director of ProgressNow Nevada
            Esther Sass, family member gun violence victim
When:  1:00 PM
Where: 708 S. 6th Street

NORTH CAROLINA

Greensboro
What:   Petition Delivery to Senator Hagan (39,259 Petitions)
Who:    Mayor Robbie Perkins
            Sheena Rorie, gun violence survivor
When: 1:30 PM
Where: 7 Battleground Ct., central conference room on 2^nd floor

Raleigh
What:   Petition Delivery to Senator Hagan (39,259 Petitions)
Who:    Gail Neely, North Carolinians Against Gun Violence
            Rev. Spencer Bradford, Durham Congregations In Action
            Karen Haldeman, Moms Demand Action
            Hooker Horton, local hunter
When: 4:00 PM
Where: 310 New Bern Avenue

Charlotte
What:  Petition Delivery to Senator Hagan (39,259 Petitions)
Who:   The Right Reverend William O. Gregg, Assistant Bishop, Episcopal Diocese of NC
           Martin Levine, retired Air Force veteran & former NRA member 
           Suzanne Rallis, Moms Demand Action
When: 2:00 PM
Where: 1520 South Boulevard, Suite 205

OHIO

Cincinnati
What:   Petition Delivery to Senator Portman (43,634 Petitions)
Who:    Moms Demand Action, faith leaders and community members
When:  Thursday, April 4, 11:00 AM
Where: Senator Portman's Office, 520 Vine Street

Columbus
What:   Petition Delivery to Senator Brown (43,634 Petitions)
Who:    Moms Demand Action and community members
When: 3:30 PM
Where: Senator Brown's Office, Sensenbrenner Park, 261 N. High Street

PENNSYLVANIA

Philadelphia
What:   Petition Delivery to Senator Casey (58,569 Petitions)
Who:    Gun violence survivor Joe Davis and community members
When:  2:15 PM
Where: Senator Casey's Office, 2000 Market Street, Suite 1870

Philadelphia
What:   Petition Delivery to Senator Toomey (58,569 Petitions)
Who:    Gun violence survivor/advocate TBD; concerned constituents
When:  12:15 PM
Where: Senator Toomey's Office, 1628 John F. Kennedy Blvd. Suite 1702

Pittsburgh
What:   Petition Delivery to Senator Toomey (58,569 Petitions)
Who:    Rob Conroy of CeaseFirePA, gun violence survivor TBD and community members
When:  10:30 AM
Where: Senator Toomey's Office, 100 W. Station Square Dr. Suite 225

About Mayors Against Illegal Guns

Since its creation in April 2006, Mayors Against Illegal Guns has grown from 15 members to more than 900 mayors from across the country. We have more than 1.5 million grassroots supporters, making us the largest gun violence prevention advocacy organization in the country.  The bipartisan coalition, co-chaired by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, has united the nation's mayors around these common goals: protecting communities by holding gun offenders accountable; demanding access to crime gun trace data that is critical to law enforcement efforts to combat gun trafficking; and working with legislators to fix weaknesses and loopholes in the law that make it far too easy for criminals and other dangerous people to get guns. Learn more at www.mayorsagainstillegalguns.org

CONTACTS
Erika Soto Lamb: esotolamb@rabengroup.com or 646-580-5281
Alex Katz: akatz1@cityhall.nyc.gov or 617-721-3779

SOURCE Mayors Against Illegal Guns