Sister Of Newtown Victim, Faith Leaders, State Representative Bartlett, And Local Advocates Hold Rally In Indianapolis To Urge Senator Coats To Support Common-Sense Background Checks

Coats Voted Against Background Checks Even Though 89 Percent of Hoosiers Support Them; Participants Thank Senator Donnelly for Voting in Favor of Sensible Gun Legislation

Rally is Part of "No More Names: National Drive to Reduce Gun Violence" Bus Tour; www.NoMoreNames.org

INDIANAPOLIS, Aug. 9, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A broad coalition of gun violence prevention advocates – including the sister of a victim of the Newtown massacre, State Representative John Bartlett, faith leaders, and families who have lost loved ones to gun violence – held a rally in Douglas Park in Indianapolis today as part of the "No More Names: National Drive to Reduce Gun Violence," a 25-state national bus tour over a period of 100 days aimed at urging America's leaders to support common-sense gun policies. The tour is sponsored by the bipartisan coalition Mayors Against Illegal Guns, which has eight member mayors and more than 35,000 grassroots supporters in Indiana.

Participants and attendees came together to voice their support for comprehensive and enforceable background checks, and they urged Senator Dan Coats to reconsider his position on this life-saving measure and take another look at bipartisan background checks legislation that would help keep guns out of the wrong hands. They also thanked Senator Joe Donnelly for supporting common-sense gun laws that would help protect communities in Indiana and across the country.

It remains far too easy for criminals, domestic abusers, the seriously mentally ill, and other dangerous individuals – people who know they can't pass a background check – to skirt the law and obtain guns by purchasing them online or at gun shows, where background checks are not required under federal law. Bipartisan legislation sponsored by NRA A-rated Senators Republican Pat Toomey and Democrat Joe Manchin – and supported by a majority of U.S. senators, including Senator Donnelly – would have closed this dangerous loophole by extending background checks to cover commercial gun sales. But in April, Senator Coats voted to block this sensible legislation, despite the fact that 89 percent of Hoosiers support background checks for all gun sales.

"My sister Victoria was murdered with a gun at Sandy Hook Elementary School while bravely trying to protect her students," said Carlee Soto, the sister of slain Newtown teacher Victoria Soto. "While there's nothing I can do to bring her back, I am committed to ensuring that no other families have to experience the pain we'll have to carry with us for the rest of our lives. It's time for our leaders to stand with those who have lost loved ones to gun violence – as well as the overwhelming majority of Americans – and support common-sense gun safety measures, like comprehensive and enforceable background checks."

"It's time for our leaders in Congress to stand with the people they represent and support comprehensive background checks that will help keep guns out of the wrong hands," said State Representative John Bartlett. "With 89 percent of Hoosiers in favor of this common-sense safety measure, how can Senator Coats in good faith continue to remain opposed to something that will help save lives? We need meaningful action – the safety of the American people is at stake."

"There are far too many people in this country being killed by the epidemic of gun violence in America," said Steve Dunlop, President of Hoosiers Concerned About Gun Violence. "Our elected representatives in Washington – including Senator Coats – need to take another look at common-sense background checks legislation that will help keep guns away from criminals, domestic abusers, and the seriously mentally ill. They won't stop every shooting or national tragedy, but they will certainly help save lives."

Participants in Friday's rally included: Carlee Soto, whose sister Victoria, a teacher at Sandy Hook Elementary School, was killed in the Newtown massacre; Stephen Miller, a South Bend resident whose brother Thomas was murdered with a gun; Pastor Steve Clay of Messiah Baptist Church; State Representative John Bartlett; Steve Dunlop, President of Hoosiers Concerned About Gun Violence; and Renita Hill, a domestic violence prevention advocate.

During the rally, participants and attendees also read the names of victims of gun violence who have been killed since the Newtown mass shooting in December 2012.

Rates of gun violence in Indiana are higher than in the rest of the country:

• In 2010, the number of suicides committed with firearms was 12 percent higher than the national average and 71 percent more than in states that require background checks for private handgun sales.[1]
• In 2009, the number of guns sold by Indiana firearms dealers that were trafficked across state lines and recovered at crime scenes outside Indiana was 122 percent more than the national average – and 404 percent more than in states that require background checks for private handgun sales.[2]

In trying to justify his vote against the Manchin-Toomey amendment, Senator Coats falsely claimed the legislation "would infringe on the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens." In reality, however, the legislation would actually strengthen the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens by reaffirming existing federal laws that already prohibit a national registry of gun owners and buyers. That's because support for the Second Amendment goes hand-in-hand with trying to keep guns away from dangerous individuals.

The No More Names tour provides an opportunity for the more than 90 percent of Americans who support background checks to drive home a message to our elected officials that our country needs common-sense gun laws. At each stop, participants are holding rallies with a broad coalition of supporters – including police, survivors, domestic violence prevention advocates, mayors, and other elected officials – to commemorate those we've lost and call on our leaders to stand with the American people on sensible gun policies. They both applaud senators who voted to support comprehensive and enforceable background checks, and urge those who opposed this measure to take a second look.

States on the tour include: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, Wisconsin. For more information, please visit www.NoMoreNames.org.

Evidence demonstrates that background checks help save lives. In states that already require background checks for all handgun sales:

• Gun trafficking was 48 percent lower than in states that fail to require background checks for all handgun sales.[3]
• The rate of women murdered by an intimate partner with a gun was 38 percent lower than in other states, while the rate murdered by other means was nearly identical.[4]
• The firearm suicide rate was 49 percent lower than in other states, even though people committed suicide in other ways at almost precisely the same rate.[5]
• Thirty-nine percent fewer law enforcement officers were shot to death with handguns.[6]

About Mayors Against Illegal Guns
Since its creation in April 2006, Mayors Against Illegal Guns has grown from 15 members to more than 1,000 mayors from across the country. With more than 1.5 million grassroots supporters – including more than 35,000 in Indiana – the coalition is 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.

[1] Centers for Disease Control. Fatal Injury Reports. 2010.

[2] Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. 2009. Available at www.TraceTheGuns.org

[3] Daniel Webster, Jon Vernick, and Maria Bulzacchelli, "Effects of State-Level Firearm Seller Accountability Policies on Firearm Trafficking," Journal of Urban Health, July 2009.

[4] U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Supplementary Homicide Reports, 2010.

[5] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. Web-Based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS) [online]. (2005) [cited 2012 Dec. 20].

[6] Federal Bureau of Investigation. LEOKA Database, 2001-2011 (Accessed Mar. 2013).

CONTACTS
Alex Katz: [email protected] or 646-324-8245
Stacey Radnor: [email protected] or 202-870-6668
Lizzie Ulmer: [email protected] or 269-271-2331

SOURCE Mayors Against Illegal Guns