INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, part of Everytown for Gun Safety, and Stephen Miller, a member of the Everytown Survivor Network, this morning applauded the South Bend Common Council for passing a resolution urging state and federal leaders to take specific actions to reduce gun violence. The resolution, which passed in a 7-2 vote late last night, calls on officials in Indianapolis and Washington to require background checks for all gun sales and close loopholes that give certain domestic abusers easy access to guns.

The passage of the measure comes at a pivotal time in the movement for gun violence prevention. While local leaders in communities like South Bend continue to push state and federal officials to do more to prevent gun violence, the gun lobby is hard at work trying to gut the nation’s gun laws. At the top of the gun lobby’s priority list is concealed carry reciprocity, federal legislation introduced in the new Congress that would undermine our nation’s gun laws and radically redefine who can carry hidden, loaded guns anywhere in America by forcing states to recognize the standards other states have for who can carry a concealed handgun in public, even those states with significantly weaker standards – or worse, no standards at all.

STATEMENT FROM STEPHANIE GRABOW, VOLUNTEER CHAPTER LEADER WITH THE INDIANA CHAPTER OF MOMS DEMAND ACTION FOR GUN SENSE IN AMERICA:

“At a time when some in Washington are trying to roll back the power of our states to make our own gun laws, Hoosiers are demanding our leaders do more, not less, to keep our communities safe.

“Last night’s vote is a step forward for the gun violence prevention movement. Every community has a role to play in addressing this crisis, and I’m grateful to the South Bend Common Council for pushing state and federal leaders to close the deadly gaps in our gun laws.”

STATEMENT FROM MISHAWAKA RESIDENT STEPHEN MILLER, A MEMBER OF THE EVERYTOWN SURVIVOR NETWORK WHOSE BROTHER, THOMAS MILLER, WAS SHOT AND KILLED ON FEBRUARY 25, 1972:

“This morning, after working with South Bend leaders for three years on this resolution, my wife, Joellen, and I remember my brother Tom who was a victim of a gun homicide 45 years ago last month. I carry his spirit as I work each day to end the gun violence crisis in this great land we share. As my brother always believed, we can be better than this.”