A coalition of mayors, law enforcement officials and faith leaders is demanding Congress enact three specific gun control measures.
Lansing mayor Virg Bernero and Flint mayor Dayne Walling are part of a national campaign to end gun violence. They want Congress to require criminal background checks for all gun sales, a ban on assault weapons and high capacity magazines and a federal ban on gun trafficking. Mayor Walling says Flint has seen the counter argument to the assertion that guns don’t kill.
“When you look at the bodies of the young men and women who have been buried, they’re riddled with bullet holes," Walling says. "These guns are accomplices to murder, and we need to take the steps necessary to get these guns out of our communities.”
Law enforcement officials say having a comprehensive database of people diagnosed as mentally ill could improve the gun permitting process.