[Neighbors] This week, I met with VP Biden at the White House about a very important issue

Fri May 27 13:54:35 MDT 2016

City Councilor Pat Davis, Nob Hill | International District | Mesa
 del Sol | SE Heights | UNM

Dear Nob Hill Neighbors ,

*Earlier this week, I
 was invited to the White House to meet with Vice President Joe Biden
 and state and local leaders from all 50 states. *

*Our goal: to
 identify and share best practices we can do today to address gun violence
 in this country.*

I went to tell the story of our own Southeast
 Area Command’s Impact Team. In partnership with the ATF, some of their
 detectives have received specialized training and commissions allowing
 them to refer local APD arrests of felons with firearms and serious
 firearm offenses straight to federal prosecutors before those violent
 offenders make bail and are back out on the streets in our District 6
 neighborhoods.  That program is sending some of our most dangerous
 felons to federal prison for serious time and giving our own neighborhood
 officers real tools to address serious violent offenders.

But
 something else happened while I was there, too.

As I shared our story of
 successes (and plenty of challenges we haven’t yet fixed), I found
 that mayors, state representatives and governors from around the country
 are dealing with the same challenges.

*Tired of waiting on
 Congress* to wrestle free from the grip of gun manufacturers, some *local
 elected leaders started some great local programs* that are having real
 success.

- I met San Francisco Mayor Mike Lee who changed San
 Francisco’s city purchasing policies to allow *officers to purchase smart
 guns that only fire when used by an authorized officer*.  That simple act
 created a market that encouraged some gun manufacturers to reinvest
 in R&D to create these systems.  Perfecting smart gun technology is a
 priority of President Obama and this one local step made it much more
 possible.

-  I talked to a state senator from Chicago’s South Side
 (more than 1,382 shootings there so far this year!) who walked me
 through their *program to trace every single crime gun back to its first
 sale*.  Those simple checks identified just 4 gun stores that were
 responsible for selling majority of the guns used in crimes there.

- The
 Attorney General of Washington, DC introduced me to their anonymous
 *Firearm Tip Line to report illegal guns.*

- And in Gary, Indiana,
 Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson is *partnering with former felons to
 intervene with young people caught with a gun, but who haven’t used it in a
 crime of violence yet.*

Vice President Biden reminded us that so
 long as Congress is dysfunctional, cities and states are where we are
 getting things done. On minimum wage, on women’s rights – and on smart
 gun violence prevention (you can watch the VP’s entire speech online at
 WH.gov [link 1])

*Now I’m back in ABQ and looking at things we can
 do with the resources we have to make real progress on gun violence
 right here at home.*

So, let me know what you think.  What should our
 priority for gun violence prevention be?

*Upcoming
 Events*

*Memorial Day Ceremony* - Monday, 5/30, 9:00am-12:00pm - You are invited
 to join us at the NM Veterans Memorial for a ceremony honoring the
 sacrifice or our fallen warriors. Music begins 9:00am and the program
 begins at 10:00am. Shuttles will be available from the parking lot at
 the Kirtland Federal Credit Union (Louisiana & Gibson
 SE).

*International District Health Communities Coalition's Lighting Project *-
 Wednesday, 6/1, 4:00pm, 437 Kentucky St SE - Join the IDHCC as they install
 two more solar lights in their continued effort to take back the
 streets.

*National Gun Violence Awareness Day* - Thursday, 6/2,
 6:30-9:30pm, Albuquerque Brewing Company (8600 Pan American Freeway) - Wear
 organ and come support the effort to prevent gun violence in solidarity
 with events across the country on "Wear Orange Day"

*International
 District Health Fair* - Saturday, 6/4, 10:00am - 2:00pm, UNM SE
 Heights Clinic, 8200 Central Ave SE - More than 100 groups will be on site
 to provide free health screenings, workshops, fun activities for the
 children, lunch, entertainment and booths featuring community
 resources. Learn more at http://www.id-healthfair.net [link 2]

*City Council
 Meeting - *Monday, 6/6, 5:00pm, 1 Civic Plaza - We'll be voting to
 adopt a solar standard for Albuquerque, improve our public financing for
 Mayoral candidates, and provide additional funding to purchase open
 spaces. When the agenda becomes available you will find it at
 https://www.cabq.gov/council/agendas-and-minutes.
[link 3]

*Jack and Jill
 Park Cleanup - *Saturday, 6/25, 10:00am, Jack and Jill Park - We'll be
 cleaning up one of our neighborhood parks and the surrounding area.
 Join us and your neighborhood might be next!

----------------------
footnotes
----------------------
[survey]
 http://pdavis06.emailnewsletter.us/mail/util.cfm?gpiv=2100135426.6838.12&gen=1
[link 1]
 https://www.whitehouse.gov/photos-and-video/video/2016/05/24/white-house-convening-gun-violence-prevention
[link
 2] http://www.id-healthfair.net
[link 3]
 https://www.cabq.gov/council/agendas-and-minutes

City Councilor Pat Davis • 1 Civic Plaza NW •
 Albuquerque NM 87102
You can also keep up with City Councilor Pat
 Davis on Twitter or Facebook.
Twitter:
 https://twitter.com/PatDavisNM
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PatforABQ/

Unsubscribe:
 http://pdavis06.emailnewsletter.us/mail/util.cfm?mailaction=unsubscribe&gpiv=2100135426.6838.12&gen=1
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.swcp.com/pipermail/neighbors_nobhill-nm/attachments/20160527/f9a62259/attachment.html>