Dumas Signs Letter to Obama on Guns

Attleboro Mayor Kevin Dumas was among more than 750 American mayors to sign a letter submitted Wednesday to President Barack Obama urging him to get tougher on gun control in the United States.

The letter from a group called Mayors Against Illegal Guns features lead signatures from Boston Mayor Thomas Menino and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

"Together, we urge you to put forward an agenda that is rooted in common sense and that will make it harder for dangerous people to possess guns, and easier for police and prosecutors to crack down on them," the letter states.

The mayors urge Obama to create an agenda on guns that includes:

• Require every gun buyer to pass a criminal background check
• Get high capacity rifles and ammunition magazines off our streets
• Make gun trafficking a federal crime

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The letter acknowledges that congressional approval is needed to get the above tasks accomplished. It states Obama can immediately do the following "to curb gun violence":

• Appoint an ATF [Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives] director
• Prosecute prohibited purchasers who attempt to buy firearms, ammunition or high-capacity magazines
• Require federal agencies to report records to NICS [National Instant Criminal Background Check System]
• Repeal remaining Tiahrt restrictions

"In the past few days, the American people came together in a national outpouring of grief and sympathy for the families of victims slain in the mass shooting in Newtown," the letter concludes. "We share in that grief.  But our constituents are also outraged and looking for leadership from the White House. We look forward to working with you to find a solution to gun violence in our country."

Obama announced Wednesday that a task force on gun violence headed by Vice President Joe Biden would be created. He also plans to submit proposals on gun control to Congress next month.

Go here to read the full letter and see who signed it.