NEW YORK, NY — New York City Mayor Eric Adams, joined by a coalition of 62 mayors from across the United States, has urged U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson to enact a federal assault weapons ban. This push for legislative action follows a recent mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine, where 18 people were killed and 13 injured by an assailant wielding an assault rifle.
The coalition, which includes mayors from cities like Buffalo, New York, and Highland Park, Illinois—both sites of previous mass shootings—emphasized the need for Congress to act in removing “weapons of war” from American streets. Highlighting the ease of acquiring such weapons in some states, Mayor Adams stressed the urgent need for federal intervention to ensure public safety in typically safe spaces, including schools, houses of worship, and public events.
First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright, co-chair of the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, and Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Phillip Banks III echoed the sentiment, underscoring the disproportionate risk these weapons pose to communities and law enforcement. NYPD Commissioner Edward A. Caban also supported the ban, noting the particular danger posed by semiautomatic assault weapons to both police officers and civilians.
The coalition’s letter to Speaker Johnson calls for bipartisan cooperation in Congress to reinstate an assault weapons ban, arguing that such a measure is critical for maintaining public safety and building on recent crime-fighting gains. The mayors collectively assert that without federal action, vulnerable populations will continue to face threats from easily accessible military-grade weaponry.