Pennsylvania Mayors, Law Enforcement, And Local Advocates To Gather In Chester To Urge Philadelphia-Area Congressmen To Support Common-Sense Background Check Legislation

Participants To Thank Reps. Meehan and Brady for Standing With Majority of Pennsylvanians Who Support Gun Background Checks, Urge Reps. Dent and Gerlach to Follow Their Lead

***MEDIA AND EVENT ADVISORY***

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

CHESTER, Pa., Aug. 23, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- On Monday, August 26th, Mayors John Linder of Chester and Richard Lowe of Swarthmore, Chester Police Commissioner Joseph Bail Jr., Representative Thaddeus Kirkland, and local advocates will gather in Chester 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. Participants will come together Monday to voice their continued support for comprehensive and enforceable background checks, and they will urge Philadelphia-area U.S. House members to back this tough-on-crime measure by co-sponsoring bipartisan background checks legislation in Congress.

The event is being organized by Mayors Against Illegal Guns, a bipartisan coalition of more than 1,000 mayors and 1.5 million grassroots supporters nationwide – including more than 200 member mayors and 106,000 grassroots supporters in Pennsylvania.

This past April, Senator Pat Toomey stood with nearly 90 percent of Pennsylvanians when he co-sponsored bipartisan background checks legislation with fellow NRA A-rated Senator Joe Manchin that would have helped keep firearms out of the wrong hands by extending background checks to cover private gun sales in commercial settings. Senator Casey, too, demonstrated leadership on this issue when he joined a majority of senators in voting in favor of the bill. It failed, however, after it was blocked by a minority of senators. Corresponding legislation in the U.S. House, sponsored by Congressmen Peter King (R-NY) and Mike Thompson (D-CA), currently has more than 180 co-sponsors, including Congressmen Bob Brady (D-PA) and Pat Meehan (R-PA). But Southeast Pennsylvania Congressmen Jim Gerlach and Charles Dent have not yet signed onto the bill.

Every day, 33 Americans are murdered with guns in this country. "No More Names: National Drive to Reduce Gun Violence" is part of Mayors Against Illegal Guns' ongoing, national effort to continue raising awareness to the issue of gun violence in America – and most importantly, to urge elected officials to prioritize the safety of the people they represent.

What: Event to urge Philadelphia-area U.S. House members to support bipartisan background checks legislation in Congress

Who: - Mayor John Linder of Chester, member of Mayors Against Illegal Guns
- Mayor Richard Lowe of Swarthmore, member of Mayors Against Illegal Guns
- Chester Police Commissioner Joseph Bail Jr.
- Representative Thaddeus Kirkland
- Beverly Wright, President of Women of Strength

Where: City Hall
1 Fourth Street
Chester, Pennsylvania 19013

When:Monday, August 26^th at 11 a.m. ET: Press Conference

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 – including more than 106,000 in Pennsylvania – 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
Alex Katz: akatz@maig.org or 646-324-8245
Stacey Radnor: radnor@homefrontdc.com or 202-870-6668
Dave Scholnick: dscholnick@maig.org or 717-723-8864

SOURCE Mayors Against Illegal Guns