STATEMENT OF THE U.S. CONFERENCE OF MAYORS PRESIDENT MIAMI MAYOR MANNY DIAZ
ON SUPREME COURT RULING IN
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA et al. v. HELLER
“The Supreme Court’s decision today in the Heller case removes a potent weapon from the arsenal of mayors who must confront gun violence every day on the streets of their cities.
“The U.S. Conference of Mayors’ position on cities’ rights to regulate firearms is reflected in Justice John Paul Stevens’ dissenting opinion in today’s ruling. ‘The majority,’ he said, ‘would have us believe that over 200 years ago, the Framers made a choice to limit the tools available to elected officials wishing to regulate civilian uses of weapons….I could not possibly conclude that the Framers made such a choice.’
“For too many of our cities, the financial costs of gun violence have been staggering; the human costs cannot be measured. Mayors firmly believe that cities must have the flexibility to regulate guns to protect against loss of life, threats to public safety and wellbeing, and the killing of police officers. We do not believe that the Second Amendment limits options available to cities to reduce gun violence, and are deeply disappointed in the Court’s decision which does limit those options.”
|
