Statements of Mayors Against Illegal Guns Co-Chairs on Senate Confirmation of B. Todd Jones as Director of Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives

U.S. Senate Votes to Confirm Acting Director B. Todd Jones as Head of ATF; Agency Has Gone Seven Years Without a Permanent Director

NEW YORK, July 31, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following the U.S. Senate vote today to confirm B. Todd Jones as director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), the co-chairs of Mayors Against Illegal Guns, New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino, issued the statements below:

"Today, the U.S. Senate took a critical step in the fight to reduce gun crime by confirming B. Todd Jones as director of the ATF. Filling this position has been an important priority of our bipartisan coalition of more than 1,000 mayors, and we applaud the Senate for its vote today," said Mayors Against Illegal Guns Co-Chair and New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg.

"After seven years without a permanent director at the helm, ATF will finally have the strong leadership it needs to stem the flow of illegal guns onto our streets and help keep our communities safe. B. Todd Jones' extensive experience in law enforcement will serve the agency – and the American people – well, as we continue our push for common-sense solutions that will reduce gun violence and keep Americans safe," said Mayors Against Illegal Guns Co-Chair and Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino.

Today's confirmation has been among the top legislative priorities for Mayors Against Illegal Guns, which endorsed Jones in a June 10th letter sent to Senators Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell. In the run-up to today's vote, the bipartisan coalition's grassroots supporters called undecided senators, and individual coalition mayors called their own state's senators to ask them to confirm Jones.

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. We have more than 1.5 million grassroots supporters, making us the largest gun violence prevention advocacy organization in the country. The bipartisan coalition 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
Alex Katz: [email protected] or 212-788-7617
Lizzie Ulmer: [email protected] or 269-271-2331

SOURCE Mayors Against Illegal Guns