Executive Directive on Weapons and Ammunition Purchasing

The city of Toledo will only purchase guns and ammunition from responsible manufacturers, Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz said during a news conference today.

“Congress won’t take action to stop mass shootings in the United States, so it is up to cities like Toledo to put pressure on gun companies to make that happen. It has become obvious that Congress will not fix this problem,” the mayor said. “We have a Congress that just doesn’t care. They are quick to tweet out thoughts and prayers but they care more about protecting the gun industry and their donations from the National Rifle Association than children hiding for their lives under desks at Sandy Hook Elementary School before being killed.”

Mayor Kapszukiewicz announced the executive directive on weapons and ammunition purchasing in the wake of yet another mass shooting, this time in Pittsburgh where 11 people were gunned down in a Synagogue.

Every year, the city of Toledo spends about $150,000 on ammunition, firearms, and firearms replacement parts.

“When we find vendors from whom to buy guns and ammunition, we are going to take steps to make sure the companies are responsible, and that the companies do not look the other way when an AR-15 gets in the hands of a mentally ill 15-year-old,” Mayor Kapszukiewicz said.

The mayor said the majority of mass shooting gunmen obtained weapons legally. He also noted that many of the gunmen in the past dozen mass shootings in the United States used an AR-15.

Responsible gun companies will be determined through six questions that companies must answer before contracts are established, Mayor Kapszukiewicz said. Those questions are:

Do you manufacture assault weapons for civilian use?
Do you sell assault weapons for civilian use?
Which firearms does your company agree to not sell to civilians?
Do you require your dealers to conduct background checks?
Does your company have a plan in place to invest in gun and ammunition tracing technologies?
Do you use, at a minimum, industry best practices for inventory control and transactions?
Mayor Kapszukiewicz said he hopes other cities will implement similar policies.

“If other large cities in Ohio adopt the same policy – and I think there is a good chance they will – the financial impact could be north of $1 million,” he said. “What we are doing today is a small step, but I could not standby and do nothing.”

The mayor’s announcement can be watched here.