Denver Mayor Calls for March for Gun Control

Mayor Wellington Webb, president of the U.S. mayors conference, called on mayors and police chiefs Thursday to march on Congress to press for gun control to stop an epidemic of violence.

This week’s attack on a Jewish center in Los Angeles shows gun control “is more important than tax cuts,” Webb told reporters.

It’s time, he said, for “Congress to respond to the wishes of the American public.”

Webb clashed with the National Rifle Assn. after the Columbine massacre in nearby Littleton, Colo., urging the group to move its national convention from Denver. When the group went ahead with the meeting, Webb marched with protesters outside the convention site.

At a news conference Thursday, Webb called on mayors and police chiefs to head for Washington on Sept. 9 “to urge their local congresspersons to support responsible and effective gun control legislation.”

The mayor said he expects “a substantial number” to heed his call. He said he picked Sept. 9 to coincide with the return of many of the country’s children to school.