WASHINGTON, D.C. - A coalition of L.A. County police chiefs has endorsed Rep. Linda Sanchez's gun violence prevention bill, which would give local law enforcement agencies more options to help promote gun safety and fund anti-violence campaigns, the congresswoman announced this week.Sanchez's proposal would establish a grant program within the Department of Justice in which grants would be eligible to state, tribal and local units of government and law enforcement agencies to carry out anti-violence campaigns, gun safety campaigns and gun buyback programs. "Our local law police departments need the proper resources to carry out anti-violence campaigns, gun safety campaigns and firearms buyback programs to get unwanted guns off the streets," said Sanchez. "My bill is a positive first step towards preventing gun violence and keeping our communities safe." "Local police departments are often operating under tight budget constraints, and the Congresswoman's bill and the federal grant program it establishes would make it possible for local law enforcement to fully fund anti-violence campaigns," added Long Beach police chief Jim McDonnell, president of the Los Angeles County Police Chiefs Association, which voted unanimously to endorse the bill.

********** Published: May 23, 2013 - Volume 12 - Issue 06