Miami-Dade Politicos Sign On For New Gun Vendor Initiative
MIAMI (CBSMiami/AP) — More than a dozen Miami-Dade municipalities have signed on to take part in a Miami-based grassroots organization's "Responsible Gun Vendor Initiative."
The aim of initiative, launched by "Arms with Ethics," is to get gun vendors to adopt a number of Best Practices, like training employees to recognize an illicit purchase and doing regular inventory checks, if they want the municipalities to do business with them.
The incentive for vendors to adopt these industry standards is clear. Selling guns to municipalities is big business. Nationally, 15% of all guns purchased go to local governments, accounting for roughly $1.7 billion dollars annually.
Arms With Ethics officials plans to announce additional details about their plan Tuesday at a Coconut Grove news conference.
More than 80 Miami-Dade elected officials from 14 municipalities have endorsed the "Arms with Ethics" resolution. These jurisdictions provide police coverage to more than 2.1 million people in Miami-Dade County, representing roughly 86% of the total county population.
Tuesday's event has national significance because it provides a model for communities to follow in dozens of other states where, like Florida, elected officials are prohibited from taking action to prevent gun violence. Florida's gun law is particularly harsh, threatening elected officials with removal from office if they pass gun violence measures.
