REUTERS In The Arena Yes, We Can Prevent Gun Violence

Michael Bloomberg is the former mayor of New York City. Shannon Watts is founder of Moms Demand Action.

The tragedy that struck Sandy Hook elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, a little over a year ago shocked the country and left all of us—especially parents with young children—heartbroken. In the aftermath, Americans offered prayers and expressions of support—and many asked a basic question: What more can we do to stop such senseless gun violence?

Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America grew out of that question. A Facebook page created on Dec. 15, 2012, one day after the massacre, quickly attracted mothers from across the country, and those moms—and more than 130,000 others—have since organized chapters in all 50 states.


The passion of moms who think every day about the safety of their children, families and neighborhoods helped make the group a prominent voice in the gun debate. And Moms Demand Action quickly tapped into a sense of frustration that many Americans feel about gun violence—the same sense that so many mayors feel. In 2006, a group of 15 mayors came together to form a bipartisan coalition, Mayors Against Illegal Guns, devoted to cracking down on gun violence. And like the moms’ Facebook page, the mayors’ coalition was soon flooded with supporters. Today, more than 1,000 mayors—from every region of the country—belong to the coalition, which has 1.5 million grassroots supporters.

The American people understand that gun violence is a problem that requires action. Every day, 33 Americans are murdered with guns, according to the Centers for Disease Control, and most of those guns are possessed illegally. There are federal laws on the books that have blocked more than 2 million felons, domestic abusers and other dangerous people from getting their hands on guns since 1998. And while the Washington gun lobby would have you believe these laws don’t work, there is little doubt they’ve helped save countless lives.

But today, gun buyers with something to hide are turning to unlicensed “private sellers” over the Internet and at gun shows who aren’t required to conduct background checks. It’s like offering two lines at the airport, one with security and one with none. Criminals are naturally choosing the latter. And Americans are dying as a result.

Closing dangerous loopholes in the background check system and strengthening enforcement of the laws already on the books is an uphill battle. For decades the gun lobby has had the field to itself, fear-mongering to raise money and sell firearms, and claiming any measure to keep guns out of the hands of criminals is a step on the way to gun confiscation, which is of course nonsense. Those falsehoods have undermined public safety for generations, allowing millions of innocent Americans to be murdered.

The vast majority of Americans understand that we can respect the Second Amendment while also protecting lives. Republican pollster Frank Luntz found last year that 87 percent of National Rifle Association members think the 2nd Amendment goes hand-in-hand with keeping illegal guns out of the hands of criminals, and 74 percent support background checks for all gun sales. If only the group’s Washington leadership would listen.

To get Congress to listen, we must unite supporters from every walk of life. And that is why our two organizations are merging to create a nationwide movement of Americans – mayors, moms, survivors of gun violence, law-enforcement leaders and gun owners.

Over the past 12 months, we’ve been working closely together—and we have made some very encouraging progress.

Earlier this year, for instance, we helped pass new laws in Connecticut, Colorado, New York, Delaware and Maryland that close state-level loopholes in our background check system. Colorado’s new gun law mandates that private gun sellers conduct the same background checks that already take place at federally licensed dealers, and the early results are encouraging: More than 70 criminals have been blocked from buying a gun.

In 2013 we also helped elect candidates in Virginia—the NRA’s home base—who campaigned on gun safety solutions, while the NRA went 0-for-3 in Virginia’s statewide races. And, at our urging, President Obama nominated and the Senate confirmed permanent director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives—a position that had been vacant for seven years.

We know that smart guns laws—and tough enforcement—work. New York has become the safest big city in the country by adopting this approach, with murder rates down to record lows. But 90 percent of guns recovered at New York crime scenes come from out of state, mostly from states that don’t require background checks on all gun purchases. Clearly, this is a national problem that requires national action.

Combining the legal and policy expertise of mayors with the passion and determination of moms will create a force for change that political leaders will not be able to ignore. And by uniting a broad coalition of millions of Americans, we intend to take the fight for common-sense gun safety measures to a new level. It’s a fight that can be won, and— unless we are willing accept that 33 Americans will be murdered with guns every day—it’s a fight we must win.