Tallahassee Mayor John Dailey joins mayors nationwide in pushing Senate to act on gun laws

Tallahassee Mayor John Dailey has signed on with more than 230 other mayors around the country in calling for the federal government to pass gun safety legislation.

The letter from the United States Conference of Mayors pushes for U.S. senators to return to Washington from their annual August break and take up two House bills addressing stricter background checks.

“Our nation can no longer wait for our federal government to take actions necessary to prevent people who should not have access to firearms from being able to purchase them,” the group wrote in a letter to U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.

The Thursday letter comes on the heels of two mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, last weekend that together left 31 dead and dozens more injured. It points to the more than 250 mass shootings in 2019. 

Back story:

• Trump: Congress discussing 'meaningful' gun background checks, NRA will have input
• Trump considers tougher background checks for gun buyers after shootings in El Paso and Dayton

Dailey said he felt the need to support his colleagues in addressing gun violence across the country in a unified voice.

“I think violent crime is an issue that all communities are dealing with across the country,” he said. “I felt compelled to join other mayors across the country to urge Congress to come back into session and take action.”

The letter points to House Bills 8 and 112, which both passed in February in a bipartisan vote.

H.R. 8 aims to close loopholes in the background check system by preventing people from navigating around purchase laws, prohibiting the unlicensed transfer of guns through secondary sales and requiring all gun purchases to go through the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System.

H.R. 112 extends the background check review period from three to 10 days.

Both “are bipartisan, sensible gun safety bills that would make our cities and our people safer and would in no way compromise gun owners’ rights,” the Conference of Mayors wrote. “Quick passage of these bills is a critical step to reducing gun violence in our country.”

President Donald Trump said Friday that congressional leaders are talking about new "meaningful background checks" for gun buyers – but with input from the National Rifle Association and other gun groups that oppose current legislative proposals.

The NRA has described many of the proposals as "soundbite solutions" – which fail to address the root of the problem, confront criminal behavior, or make our communities safer.”

"The inconvenient truth is this: the proposals being discussed by many would not have prevented the horrific tragedies in El Paso and Dayton," tweeted Wayne LaPierre, CEO of the National Rifle Association on Thursday. "Worse, they would make millions of law-abiding Americans less safe and less able to defend themselves and their loved ones.”

Contact Karl Etters at ketters@tallahassee.com or @KarlEtters on Twitter. USA Today contributed to this report.