Quijano Joins with Mayors Against Illegal Guns to Call on Congress to Address Proliferation of Gun Violence

(CRANFORD) - One month after the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School, Assembly Homeland Security Committee Chair Annette Quijano joined with mayors and police chiefs from across New Jersey in Cranford on Monday to call on members of Congress to take immediate steps to end the nation's gun violence epidemic.

"The proliferation of gun violence across our country is nothing short of an epidemic," said Quijano (D-Union). "This is a problem that transcends political parties, geography and race and demands action from our national leaders."

The event, hosted by Mayors Against Illegal Guns, was designed to shed light on the fact that 33 Americans are murdered with guns every day, while Washington lawmakers have done nothing to address this critical issue and stop the bloodshed. Now, just one month to the day after 26 innocent people were murdered in Newtown, Quijano and others demanded common-sense gun reforms that will help save American lives.

"New Jersey has some of the toughest gun laws in the nation, but the flow of guns does not stop at our border. Without tougher federal laws, this will only do so much to stem the tide of gun violence. We need a coordinated federal effort that incorporates criminal background checks on all gun sales, a ban on military-style assault weapons with high capacity ammunition and a mental health component to help crack down on gun violence, particularly the type of mass casualty tragedies we've witnessed lately," added Quijano.

During today's event, Mayors Against Illegal Guns also released a new television ad featuring family members of gun violence victims demanding a plan of action from Washington. The ad will air in the New York metropolitan media market and can be seen here: www.DemandAPlan.org .

Since the Newtown shooting, more than 100 mayors have joined the bipartisan ranks of the Mayors Against Illegal Guns coalition, which now includes more than 800 mayors representing 59 million Americans in 44 states. In New Jersey, there are more than 70 Mayors Against Illegal Guns. The coalition has grown to more than one million grassroots supporters nationwide in an effort to keep their communities safe.

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