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Peekskill Mayor Foster to Obama: Bolster Gun Control

Peekskill Mayor Mary Foster signs letter, pleads with White House to help curb mass shootings.

Their message is clear: curb violence and mass shootings by bolstering gun control.

It's a dispatch Peekskill Mayor Mary Fosterr—along with hundreds of other mayors from around the nation—are sending to President Barack Obama in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre that left 20 children and six adults dead.

Foster and about 750 other mayors from both sides of the aisle have signed a letter sent to the White House imploring the Commander in Chief to take concrete steps to better secure firearms.

"As mayors, we are charged with keeping our communities safe," the missive reads. "But too many of us have sat with mothers and fathers of children killed with guns."

"On Friday, December 14th, the entire nation watched as parents stood outside the Sandy Hook Elementary School and waited, desperately hoping to be reunited with their children," the letter continues.

Among the changes proposed in the letter are criminal background checks for all gun buyers, taking high-capacity magazines off streets and making gun trafficking a federal crime.

"Our constituents are... outraged and looking for leadership from the White House," the band of mayors concludes. "We look forward to working with you to find a solution to gun violence in our country."

The coalition—Mayors Against Illegal Guns—also has the support of 700,000 Americans and 100 survivors of gun violence.

Other Lower Hudson Valley mayors who have signed on include politicos from Ossining, New Rochelle, White Plains, South Nyack and Piermont.

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joshua tanner December 20, 2012 at 07:56 pm
Maybe Foster should ask to ban knives too since thats how people have been getting hurt and killed the most in Peekskill
Fly on the Wall December 20, 2012 at 08:59 pm
She ain't none to bright... perhaps she should have directed her request to the state head judiciary begging for longer sentences.
Collegenurse December 20, 2012 at 09:34 pm
Fine Ms. Foster get busy doing busy work but ignore your backyard that is falling apart due to poor decisions on the direction of the city.
I am tired of hearing about crime in Peekskill...I petitioned the police last year to set up patrols in my neighborhood after I witnessed a drug deal in front of my house...never got a response and only see a PD vehicles when something is wrong.
Frank a Catalina December 20, 2012 at 10:27 pm
fine. we all agree with that! what about the 18 lives ruined due to the fiscal mismanagement of this administration... and about twice that number if you count the buy-out (give-aways) and unfilled positions. sure doesnt look like christmas around city hall.
Fred December 21, 2012 at 02:24 am
Let me make sure I understand what you are saying: 26 people died in Newtown due to gun violence...the mayor and her colleagues speak out in favor of gun control and you guys all twist it for your own agendas? 26 dead and you're complaining about butter knives, seeing a drug deal, and layoffs? Do you hear yourselves? Don't bother responding because there is nothing you can say to respond.
marky weltzien December 21, 2012 at 02:27 am
thank you.
Jill Gertz December 21, 2012 at 04:58 am
Obama and Holder got over 200 Mexicans and some US Border agents killed in fast and Furious. The reason was an attempt slander US gun sellers as the source of the problem in Mexico. Innocent people in bad urban areas get killed because they can't legally defend themselves. The worst gun crimes are in the areas with most gun control. If Mayor Foster really wants Peekskill citizens to be safer she should be calling for citizens to own guns so that they aren't sitting ducks, The Columbine shooters first intent was to blow the school up with propane tanks. They only went on shooting rampage when bombs failed. A modern. degenerate society has produced too many lunatics to think disarming people is wise.
"Gun-related violent crimes drop as sales soar in Va" http://www.timesdispatch.com/news/local/central-virginia/gun-related-violent-crimes-drop-as-gun-sales-soar-in/article_54cca13a-35ee-11e2-83f0-0019bb30f31a.html
Collegenurse December 21, 2012 at 01:29 pm
Fred nothing we can say? How short sighted this the exact forum for comments...don't miss understand i applaud our mayor for an opinion on gun control its just that the impression is the office gets caught up in "other" issues and seems to avoid the ones that plague peekskill
praveen December 21, 2012 at 03:46 pm
As responsible individuals we should make very strategic decision. Dont hold on to 2nd Amendment which was written X yrs ago. We are not against anybody owning a gun for a genuine reason. Can we propose the following.
If you want to own a gun, pay higher tax which will be used for providing security to schools & public places If you are under the age of 35 and have the adrenalin to own a gun, serve the army corps and shoot moving target in a real environment Police and Law enforcement instead of charging innocent people for small felony of suspended registration and lack of insurance, focus on retrieving 270 million guns floating around and put a RFID to each gun and when you see that it is being located near public areas with more than 10 people make sure your system is alerted.
Ray Adamick December 21, 2012 at 05:15 pm
The NRA news conference was a joke!!
Abby Normal December 21, 2012 at 06:57 pm
For a moment, just a moment, I thought the NRA would come up with a reasonable position that we could use as the basis for negotiating an agreement that would allow the 2nd amendment to remain the law of the land while protecting our children from lunatics and miscreants who want AR-15's so they can efficiently kill us.
But the NRA proved that I'm a dreamer. Their solution of armed officers in every school is beyond stupid. If we were to take it seriously, then we'd also need to have armed officers on every school bus, in every mall, every movie theater, skating rink and every event, including your child's birthday party. How ridiculous is that? If you acknowledge that people with guns are the problem, then why would you bring more guns into the environment? Why not burn your house down so that it would be safe from a forest fire? That makes just as much sense. I resigned my membership from the NRA years ago when they refused to take a stand against cop killer bullets and now I ask anyone who is a member to resign theirs.
R Rice December 27, 2012 at 05:54 pm
A Bill of Rights is what the people are entitled to against every government, and what no just government should refuse, or rest on inference -Thomas Jefferson
Note Article
Just a short thought to get the word out quickly about anything in your neighborhood.
Share something with your neighbors. Write a new post... What's up? Make an announcement, speak your mind, or sell something
jo June 18, 2013 at 10:10 am
the news system has been a horror since day one.. nothing was wrong with the old system..new systemRead More Not User friendly at all.. in fact it discourages users.. the format is confusing..can never find the articles once posted again... bring it back.. who ever made this decision should be fired.. lets see if this gets posted..
leesther brown June 18, 2013 at 11:26 am
@Ashley, I posted a comment on my own announcement and it disappeared twice..
JM June 18, 2013 at 12:10 pm
Ashley, do you live here in Peekskill? I second what Jo said, the ''new'' patch design is really aRead More horror, although I realize that is not your responsibility. While I think the former editor, Rasheed, probably let some things stand that might be considered rude/mean, how many comments are actually being deleted, versus hitting a tech glitch? I post on yahoo, about half my comments don't make it. Seems the longer I have the comment window open the less chance it gets posted. so that is a tech bug not censorship.
sue June 17, 2013 at 06:55 pm
they put them out bottom window to do their"business" right under several of our decks.Read More they are very rude and unhygenic.
sue June 17, 2013 at 07:00 pm
don't know why I'm having a problem getting this written............anyway...they are rude,Read More unhygenic and WILL NOT follow any of the condo rules....there's so much more but we are sick of it. There are only two of us that speak up...everyone else is cowering behind closed doors.
joshua tanner June 18, 2013 at 03:00 pm
Unleashed dogs is getting to be a big problem in Peekskill. I see them routinely now. People areRead More letting their pit bulls out, their poodles, their chihuahuas - all kinds of dogs. Two days a go I watched a lady jogging on the track with her loose dog. The dog wasn't even supposed to be on the track no less loose. Some kid or elderly lady is going to get bit. Loose dogs also end up in more fights with other dogs.
Nancy O'Connor June 17, 2013 at 09:33 am
It was our pleasure to help out....good food, good weather, all around good time!!
leesther brown June 18, 2013 at 11:48 am
@Nancy,,I Thanked both you and Pauline Ghilcrest for serving the community and they took my commentsRead More down twice!!! Once again Thank You..you're automatically signed up for next year..:)
joshua tanner June 15, 2013 at 10:28 pm
It seems Patch moves editors every year. Liz was here when I signed up. Then she was shortly movedRead More to Rye and Rasheed took over. He must have been here about a year and then he left when the new format was introduced. Both times patch started cooking and then it got cut down just as new staff got their mojo going. A new editor with a new format seems like starting from scratch again. I know AOL/Patch needs to get some cash flow going quick (from what I've read) but I can't see what they are trying to do exactly by tipping the cart over and over
Wendy Kelly June 17, 2013 at 08:37 am
Agree Joshua just when you have a good thing going with an Editor they move. I can't figure thisRead More site out I was not allowed to post for at least a week thought Mary et al put an hex on me. Hey anyone know where Peter Goodson is??? I miss his posts.
jo June 18, 2013 at 10:12 am
new format is a dud.. 100% dud.. not user friendly.. a horror to navigate, as mentioned... noRead More benefit here. not at all.. quickly becoming a ex Patch fan... fix the mess you made..
Wendy Kelly June 15, 2013 at 11:03 am
http://search.lohud.com/sp?aff=1100&skin=&keywords=revitalization of Peekskill
Working Families Party endorsed candidate Mary Foster
Robin Seggs June 14, 2013 at 10:44 am
Working Families Party almost always cross endorses with Democrats. Looks like the choice isRead More getting clearer: One team is Democrat, WFP and Independent and the Catalina Team is Republican, Right-to-life, Conservative. Anyway, I believe Catalina is campaigning as anti-gay rights, so I know how I will be voting.
jo June 14, 2013 at 02:28 pm
and so many in the cast of characters that attend the meetings. believe Mary is a republican atRead More heart.. and here the Left of all left dem groups endorses here..mmmmmmmm just thinking out loud..
stephanie June 14, 2013 at 03:57 pm
mary foster and the rest of her butt kissers not need to run after what they have done to this cityRead More already we don't need them to run another term they neeed to get out and stay out. i believe frank catalina will much better than foster will ever be he cares about the city and does not like what foster has done to this city i wish him very much luck and i truly believe he will win as our mayor for peekskill good luck and kick foster and her butt kissers out of city hall and keep them out
af24us June 12, 2013 at 01:48 pm
I agree - the dangerous stop signs On Hudson Ave should be removed in both directions and keep theRead More stop signs on South St. and the exit ramps from Route 9.
Master Nicholas Canaan and his Lodge Officers for the 2013-14 Masonic Year
Fly on the Wall June 9, 2013 at 08:49 pm
Great,..... Masons... send'em over to city hall to re-point the building. Lot's of loose bricks overRead More there.