DEARBORN — In the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting in Connecticut that left 26 dead, including 20 children, Mayor Jack O’Reilly of Dearborn has joined a coalition along with hundreds of others mayors across the country that calls for congress to push greater federal gun control.

The Mayors Against Illegal Gun Coalition includes O’Reilly, along with New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Detroit Mayor Dave Bing. The coalition highlights several new enforcements they would like to see passed as well as additional steps that can be taken by President Obama. The coalition demands that background checks are done for every gun sold in America, to put a ban on assault weapons and high capacity ammunition magazines, and to make gun trafficking a federal crime with severe penalties. 

The mayors all endorsed a message that was directed towards President Obama which asks him to take the following steps; Appointing an Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearm & Explosives (ATF) Director, prosecute prohibited purchasers who attempt to buy firearms and require federal agencies to report records to the the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). 

“As mayors, we are charged with keeping our communities safe.  But too many of us have sat with mothers and fathers of children killed with guns.  Twenty-four children enrolled in public schools in your hometown of Chicago were shot to death just last year,” the letter directed to President Obama stated.  

The coalition is part of a greater campaign titled “Demand a Plan to End Gun Violence,” which generated the backing of celebrities that include Beyonce, Jamie Foxx, Reese Witherspoon, Ellen DeGeneris, Will Ferrell and Jennifer Aniston. The celebrities have come together for a special video which has already received over a million views on YouTube.