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Image of words: Mayors Against Illegal Guns
U.S. Mayors Discuss Gun Violence Prevention

Mayors’ panel kicks off John Jay College’s America’s Gun Epidemic Initiative

Press Advisory

What:

John Jay College will host a panel discussion titled, “Mayors Against Illegal Guns: How are Mayors Taking Responsibility for Addressing Gun Violence in Their Cities?,” featuring Mayors Lovely Warren of Rochester, NY; and Stephanie Miner of Syracuse, NY; as well as Eric Cumberbatch, Executive Director of Mayor's Office to Prevent Gun Violence , New York, NY. Bill Keller, Editor-in Chief of The Marshall Project, will serve as the moderator.

Mayors are in a unique position to implement policies that can reduce illegal access to guns and curb violence. Recognizing this in 2006, 15 mayors including New York City’s Michael Bloomberg and Boston’s Thomas Menino founded Mayors Against Illegal Guns. In over a decade, the coalition has grown to include over 1,000 members, and it is now part of the larger organization Everytown for Gun Safety, the country’s largest gun violence prevention organization and the co-sponsor of the mayoral panel discussion.

This event will kick off the semester-long initiative, “America’s Gun Epidemic: A Question of Public Health, Security, and Freedom.”  The Gun Violence Initiative will explore this issue in depth, using an interdisciplinary approach, and will look at the impact of gun violence on individuals, families, and entire communities as well as the often divisive politics of how to prevent gun violence while preserving gun rights.

Subsequent events include art exhibits, a panel on the role of social media co-sponsored by the Citizens Crime Commission of New York City, two film screenings, a book talk with Jill Leovy, author of Ghettoside, a conference on frameworks of interventions in New York City, a conversation with survivors, gun owners, and law enforcement, and a student-sponsored TEDxCUNY Salon featuring several presentations.

Learn more about the Gun Violence Initiative and view upcoming events at http://johnjay.jjay.cuny.edu/gunviolence2017/.

Who:

Participants include:

  • Mayor Lovely Warren, Rochester, NY
  • Mayor Stephanie Miner, Syracuse, NY
  • Eric L. Cumberbatch, Director of the Mayor's Office to Prevent Gun Violence, New York, NY
  • Bill Keller, Editor-in Chief, The Marshall Project
     

When:

Thursday, February 9, 5:00 – 7:00 PM

RSVP:

Please email Doreen Viñas-Pineda at dvinas@jjay.cuny.edu.

Where:

Gerald W. Lynch Theater

John Jay College of Criminal Justice

524 West 59th Street, between 10th  and 11th Avenues

New York, NY

About John Jay College of Criminal Justice: An international leader in educating for justice, John Jay College of Criminal Justice of The City University of New York offers a rich liberal arts and professional studies curriculum to upwards of 14,000 undergraduate and graduate students from more than 135 nations. In teaching, scholarship and research, the College approaches justice as an applied art and science in service to society and as an ongoing conversation about fundamental human desires for fairness, equality and the rule of law. For more information, visit www.jjay.cuny.edu

About Mayors Against Illegal Guns: Since its creation in April 2006, Mayors Against Illegal Guns has grown from 15 mayors of major American cities to more than 1,000 current and former mayors. The bipartisan coalition has united mayors, gun violence survivors and everyday Americans around these common goals: protecting communities by holding gun offenders accountable; demanding access to crime gun trace data that is critical to law enforcement efforts to combat gun trafficking; and working with legislators to fix weaknesses and loopholes in the background check system that make it far too easy for criminals and other dangerous people to get guns. Along with Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America and the Everytown Survivor Network, Mayors Against Illegal Guns is part of Everytown for Gun Safety, the largest gun violence prevention organization in the country with more than three million grassroots supporters and more than 125,000 donors. Learn more at everytown.org/mayors/