ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Mayor Lovely Warren is asking her counterparts in cities across the U.S. to sign a petition to show their support for reducing gun violence in their communities.
Warren's office announced the "100 Cities to Reduce Gun Violence" initiative on Monday. The push is in reaction to the shooting a little over a week ago at a gay nightclub in Orlando that left 49 people dead and dozens more injured.
Warren hopes to get at least 100 mayors to sign and agree to "form safer neighborhoods and recognize June as national Gun Violence Awareness Month," the petition says.
The petition doesn't suggest any specific strategies to curb shootings, but is supposed to be a step toward creating a national movement.
Warren's announcement also follows several violent days in Rochester. A man was shot and killed Friday near School 54. A 62-year-old woman was shot early Saturday, and two people, including a teenager, were shot early Sunday. The city's Operation Transformation Rochester program was involved in organizing a conference and march on Saturday that called for an end to the violence.
As of Monday afternoon, the petition had 25 supporters, but most appeared to be people from the Rochester area, not mayors elsewhere.
Warren's office said she also is asking other elected officials to recommend five ideas to reduce gun violence and to recruit at least five cities to designate June 2017 as Gun Violence Awareness Month.
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