Law Enforcement Leaders From Around The Country Called On Congress Today To Take Action To Prevent Gun Violence

Law Enforcement Officials Demand Congress Strengthen Nation’s Gun Laws
As part of the National Law Enforcement Partnership to Prevent Gun Violence, an alliance of the nation’s most important law enforcement organizations, police leaders from across the country came together in Washington, D.C. today to demand that Congress act to end the epidemic of gun violence that kills more than 30 Americans every day.

Law enforcement officials representing the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators (IACLEA), the Major Cities Chiefs Association (MCC), and the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE) joined together at a press conference to call on Congress to:
• Require background checks for all firearm purchasers;
• Improve the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), by ensuring that disqualifying records of all prohibited firearms purchasers are contained in the system;
• Ban new semi-automatic assault weapons; and
• Limit high-capacity ammunition magazines to ten rounds.
"There is no more urgent issue facing Congress than the safety of our communities nationwide,” said Chief Jim Johnson, Baltimore County, MD, Chair of the National Law Enforcement Partnership to Prevent Gun Violence, and Major Cities Chiefs Association (MCC) representative to the Partnership. “Congress must act now to curb rising gun violence by passing legislation requiring background checks on all firearms sales and banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines of more than ten rounds."
“International Association Campus Law Enforcement Administrators calls upon Congress to take action to save lives,” said the organization’s President, Chief Anne Glavin, California State University, Northridge, CA. “Statistics prove background checks work and they need to become universal and well supported with data submitted completely. High capacity magazines and assault weapons allow for our nation’s young people to die in numbers that are unacceptable and need to end.”
“The International Association of Chiefs of Police supports these measures because we know from experience that these policies will prevent dangerous people from acquiring firearms and harming the innocent. The IACP believes that these proposals and actions reflect an effective, balanced approach to addressing the plague of gun violence in our communities and nation,” said Chief Terry Cunningham, Wellesley, MA, and 4th Vice President of IACP.
“National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives urge Congress to act immediately to put an end to the scourge of gun violence in our country ¬¬– both mass shootings and the everyday/routine violence that pervades our towns and cities, said Chief John Dixon, Petersburg, VA, and 2nd Vice President of the organization. “Extendingbackground checks for all firearm purchasers is a common-sense measure. Assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines are instruments of carnage, pure and simple, and must be removed from our streets.”
Chiefs Johnson, Glavin, Cunningham and Dixon were joined by more than 25 of their law enforcement colleagues including:
• IACLEA’s Dolores ("Dee") Danser, Chief, Dickinson College Public Safety; Mike Fink, Deputy Chief, University of Pennsylvania; and Mike Webster, Director, Campus Safety, McDaniel College.
• IACP’s Kent Barker, Chief, Tualatin, OR; Terrence Cunningham, Chief, Wellesley, MA; Dwight Henninger, Chief, Vail, CO; Russell Laine, Chief, Algonquin, IL; Joseph H. Lumpkin, Sr., Chief of Police, Athens Clark County, GA; and Colonel Steven O'Donnell, Superintendent, RISP/Commissioner, RI Department of Public Safety.
• MCC’s Shawn Jones, Deputy Chief, Atlanta, GA and Martha Montalvo, Executive Assistant Chief, Houston, TX.
• NOBLE’s Travis Christian, Chief, Waverly, PA; Keith Humphrey, Chief of Police, Norman, OK; Virgil Green, Chief of Police, Spencer, OK; Victor McCraw, Captain, Arizona Department of Public Safety; William Nagle, Deputy Chief, Denver, CO; Thomas Ryff, Chief, Tempe, AZ; and Perry Tarrant, Captain, Tucson, AZ; and John Vinson, Chief of Police, University of Washington.

About the National Law Enforcement Partnership to Prevent Gun Violence
The Partnership is an alliance of the nation’s law enforcement leadership organizations concerned about the unacceptable level of gun violence in theUnited States. The Partnership is working to address the pervasive nature of gun violence and its horrific impact on community and officer safety. The Partnership includes member organizations, all of which support expanding background checks to all firearm purchasers, improving records inNICS, and banning new ammunition magazines in excess of ten rounds: