Scherer Joins Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition
Pleasantville Mayor Peter Scherer is adding his name to the list of municipal officials across the nation to join Mayors Against Illegal Guns, a coalition pushing for tighter gun control measures.
Scherer announced last week he filed papers to join other mayors in Westchester and throughout the county who have signed on. As of last week, there are 10 mayors in the county that are now part of the group.
“My personal belief is having assault weapons so easily available to the average citizen is crazy and that is one step we can take to improve all safety in our country,” Scherer said.
Mayors Against Illegal Guns (MAIG) was started by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Boston Mayor Thomas Menino in 2006. The coalition supports gun control initiatives to fight illegal gun trafficking and reduce gun violence across the nation.
The group’s mission states that it “supports the Second Amendment and rights of citizens to own guns” but adds “we can do more to stop criminals from getting guns while also protecting the rights of citizens to freely own them.”
Scherer said the horror of the Dec.14 shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. and other recent shooting sprees motivated him to join the coalition.
He also said that MAIG’s principles made sense to him, including punishing, to the maximum extent of the law, criminals who possess, use and traffic illegal guns and prosecuting gun dealers who knowingly sell firearms to straw purchasers.
Additionally, the coalition opposes federal efforts that would prevent more effective enforcement, supports local state and federal legislation that targets illegal guns and works to develop and use technologies that would aid in the detection and tracing of illegal guns.
Scherer said some weapons are too easily available and don’t fall into the category of reasonable self-protection or weapons for sport.
He admitted the issue is controversial and one that reasonable people can disagree with. In an area like Pleasantville, it is difficult to envision how anyone would need a “weapon of annihilation.”
“Had the shooter that had went into the Newtown school not had an automatic weapon,” Scherer said, “the first responders would have gotten there and been able to stop him with less loss of life.”
