Sister of Newtown Victim, Survivor of Accent Signage Shooting, Mayors Rybak and Coleman, and Law Enforcement to Hold Rally in Minneapolis Urging Congress to Support Background Checks

Participants Will Thank Senators Franken and Klobuchar for Supporting Common-Sense Background Checks, Urge Congressmen Paulsen and Kline to Follow Their Lead

***MEDIA AND EVENT ADVISORY***

July 31^st Rally is Part of "No More Names: National Drive to Reduce Gun Violence" Bus Tour;

www.NoMoreNames.org

MINNEAPOLIS, July 29, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --On Wednesday, July 31st, the sister of a Newtown victim, a survivor of the Accent Signage shooting and the family of one of its victims, Mayors R.T. Rybak of Minneapolis and Chris Coleman of St. Paul, law enforcement officials, local gun owners, and faith leaders will hold a rally in Minneapolis 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 Wednesday to thank Senators Al Franken and Amy Klobuchar for voting in favor of bipartisan background checks legislation in April, and they will urge the rest of Congress – including Representatives Erik Paulsen and John Kline – to support this life-saving measure.

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 24,000 in Minnesota.

This past April, Senators Franken and Klobuchar stood with Minnesotans and voted to support bipartisan background checks legislation sponsored by NRA A-rated Senators Joe Manchin and Pat Toomey that would have helped keep guns out of the wrong hands by extending background checks to cover private gun sales in commercial settings. The bill 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 but has failed to receive support from Congressmen Paulsen and Kline.

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.

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 24,000 in Minnesota – 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 212-788-7617
John Stiles: john.stiles@minneapolismn.gov or 612-581-1788
Stacey Radnor: radnor@homefrontdc.com or 202-870-6668

SOURCE Mayors Against Illegal Guns