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June 21, 2001 Senator John McCain Dear Senators McCain and Lieberman: On behalf of the 18,000 cities, towns, and villages represented by the National League of Cities (NLC), I am writing to express NLC's support for your efforts to promote gun safety. The National League of Cities' membership adopted the enclosed resolution, which calls on Congress and the Administration to support legislation requiring that all purchasers of firearms at organized gun shows be subject to the same background investigation as individuals who purchase firearms from federal firearms licensees. NLC also supports actions to ensure that the same legislation applies to Internet-facilitated firearms commerce. In this regard, we applaud the goal of your legislation, the "Gun Show Loophole Closing and Gun Law Enforcement Act of 2001" (S. 890). S. 890 would not only close the loophole in federal firearms laws, but would also establish a reasonable definition of a gun show; improve the accuracy and speed of background checks; require uniform record-keeping requirements for both federal firearms licensees and special firearms event licensees; establish new enforcement provisions against gun trafficking; promote smart gun technology; and expand the Youth Crime Gun Interdiction Initiative to 250 cities. Again, NLC supports these provisions in the Gun Show Loophole Closing and Gun Law Enforcement Act of 2001. However, NLC is concerned about the bill's proposal to automate criminal records, particularly mental health records, as well as the potential of an unfunded mandate that could be imposed upon local governments to accomplish records' automation. Specifically, NLC asks that you consider direct grants to local governments for records' automation without matching fund requirements. Often, local governments are unable to take advantage of federal funding when numerous mandates and stringent requirements for matching funds are imposed. This is often true for smaller jurisdictions that would benefit from assistance to help them modernize their criminal records systems. Please consider including this proposal in S. 890 so that all levels of government can enforce gun safety measures and firearms laws more effectively. The National League of Cities is eager to work with you to ensure that this bipartisan effort becomes law. Sincerely, National League of Cities
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