Mayors of Seattle and Tacoma, VP coalesce around ‘commonsense’ gun laws

Gun violence held the spotlight Friday when U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris addressed more than 200 local mayors at the U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) in Reno, Nevada.

Harris, along with Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell and Tacoma Mayor Victoria Woodards, reflected the problem through the prism of “common sense” gun law reform, language which all three speakers used at some point during the conference.

“We need to pass commonsense gun safety laws,” the Vice President said Friday.

“It’s clear that we must renew the assault weapons ban … expand background checks … repeal the liability shield that protects gun manufacturers … pass red-flag laws to prevent people from possessing firearms if they are a danger to themselves or others.”

“Finally, the United States Senate must confirm a permanent Director to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF). It’s been a long time since there’s been a permanent director there. And that organization knows best how these steps will protect our communities.”

Harrell, in an interview with KIRO Newsradio, invoked a problem he often references when the conversation turns to Seattle-local attempts at restricting access to guns: Washington state’s preemption clause, which supersedes municipal authority to regulate the sale of guns.

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“The mayors now realize that many of them are prohibited [from legislating gun control] through state law,” Harrell told KIRO Newsradio.

“An 18-year-old should not be able to buy an assault weapon, and limitless ammunition for such a weapon … We are now realizing as mayors that our collective voice is going to be even stronger … We realize collectively that we have to use this voice and get both states and federal governments to step up. I think you’re gonna see a new level of energy coming out of the conference of mayors.”

Woodards turned the conversation to mental health, offering the point that a correlation between mental health problems and gun violence will be her office’s focus on gun control in Tacoma.

“There’s a really big correlation right now between mental health and gun violence in this country. Talking about best practices, making sure that we’re taking care of our community and our police departments, making sure that when these incidents happen, we’re as prepared as we can be in that we’re doing trauma-informed care,” Tacoma’s mayor told KIRO Newsradio.

Francis Suarez, Mayor of Miami and USCM President, announced the creation of a new, official Task Force on Mental Health and Wellbeing at the conference. The task force will partner with the U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy on solutions and best practices for “getting people needed help and resources,” a USCM news release on the task force reads.

“We have both a medical and a moral obligation to confront the mental health crisis devastating our country — especially our young people,” said Dr. Vivek Murthy, Surgeon General of the United States.

“That means not only increasing access to treatment and investing more in prevention, but it also requires us to do the essential work of rebuilding social connection and community. High rates of loneliness have been an important contributor to mental health challenges even before COVID-19 — and they have also had negative effects on school and workplace performance, and on our ability to dialogue and build trust in our communities.”

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