AMHERST — While members of the Select Board support efforts to promote gun safety by extending background checks and punish those who traffic in illegal guns, a decision to endorse principles outlined by a national gun-control organization was put off Monday after questions were raised about joining Mayors Against Illegal Guns.
Following a nearly hour-long discussion, board members said they were not yet ready to act on a request from the town’s Board of Health to join Mayors Against Illegal Guns, a program of Everytown for Gun Safety.
Select Board member Andrew Steinberg said endorsing principles is different from becoming part of an organization whose activities and views may not fully be known.
“I’m a little bit hesitant to join an organization without knowing a little more about the implications for the town” of making such a decision, Steinberg said.
Board members Douglas Slaughter and James Wald agreed that the board should have more information before taking such action, which could come later this summer.
Community Services Director Julie Federman, who oversees the town’s Health Department, said illegal guns are at the forefront of gun-related issues being addressed by the health board.
“This was the first thing we identified as something that could be a community statement,” Federman said, calling the organization, created by former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a credible one that Amherst should be comfortable joining.
Marco Boscardin, chairman of the Board of Health, said it wants the town to be involved in a group that allows Amherst’s voice to be louder and more influential on national policy.
In addition, by joining, Amherst would be able to access information and keep on top of what is happening in Massachusetts and surrounding states.
But Joseph Swartz, of Meadow Street, said while he supports the principles of gun safety and keeping guns out of hands of criminals, he does not want Amherst to join an organization which he claims “at best has dubious motives.”
Noting he has held a license to carry a firearm for nearly 30 years, Swartz said he is worried that Mayors Against Illegal Guns will target law-abiding citizens, rather than criminals.
“Any information they could provide is easily accessible in the public domain,” Swartz said.
Debra Wirth of Deepwoods Drive wrote a letter asking the board to sign on.
“As you are aware, many in town are deeply pained by the issue and some of us have families who have been affected by losses due to out of control violence,” Wirth wrote.
Sheila Heyer of Cherry Lane said guns are an important issue and Amherst has a tradition of taking a public stand on policy. “Gun violence is pervasive in our society,” Heyer said.
The lone member comfortable with acting was Constance Kruger, who said she was glad the issue was brought before the Select Board, and joining the organization would give the town some power and influence over firearms policy.
“I think the matters of both gun safety and illegal guns, they do dovetail, are a really important public safety community issue,” Kruger said. “I don’t see that joining this obligates us to anything, I think it’s an important statement.”
But her motion to join the organization failed when it did not receive a second from any of the other four board members.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
