Touring Gun Control Campaign Makes Stop In Miami

MIAMI (CBS4) – Thirty-four Americans are killed every day with guns, according to a national gun control organization which is making a stop in South Florida.

The Fix Gun Checks Truck Tour stopped in Miami on Monday.

The tour started in the wake of the Tucson shootings by a bipartisan coalition of 550 mayors from around the country, including 30 in Florida.

Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado joined local family members of gun violence Monday at Miami City Hall to support the national campaign which urges Congress "to fix the nation's broken gun background check system."

Kanisha Gross, who joined the politicians at the stop, lost her husband when he was shot and killed. He was among the more than 75 people killed in gun violence in Miami in the past ten months.

"They took his life, he was a good man," Kanisha said.

"Miami has been a victim of illegal guns that's killing gun people and law enforcement," said Mayor Regalado.

The mayors, and Rep. Wasserman Schultz want Congress to pass a law that would subject every gun sale to a background check. They also want the names of people prohibited from buying a gun listed in a central database.

"There are too many loopholes that have to be tightened," Wasserman Schultz said. "And unfortunately, Florida has some of the most gaping loopholes that have to be closed."

The mobile truck features a clock that tolls the number of Americans killed with guns since the Jan. 8 shootings that killed six people and critically injured Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.

"We should know who has a gun and it should be in a database," Wasserman Schultz, a close friend of Rep. Giffords, said.

In 2011, at least 22 U.S. law enforcement officers have been shot and killed in the line of duty. Six of those officers were Floridians.

All six of their killers were barred from possessing firearms under current law - but slipped through gaps in the background check system.

Just over a month ago, President Obama signaled his support for reforms to make background checks instant, accurate and comprehensive.

Nearly 13,000 Floridians and 250,000 Americans have already signed a petition supporting the "Fix Gun Checks" plan.

If you'd like to sign the petition, and follow the Fix Gun Checks Campaign and Mobile Truck Team, just go to www.FixGunChecks.org.