(Miami, FL) – City of Miami Mayor Manny Diaz today urged Senators Mel Martinez (R-FL) and Bill Nelson (D-FL) to vote against the legislation pushing for so-called “concealed carry reciprocity” as contained in S.845.

The legislation would make it mandatory for states to accept other states’ concealed weapons laws. This proposed legislation would require every state and city with a concealed carry law to honor permits granted in other states, including those with much more relaxed standards.

As Mayor Diaz states in his letter, the legislation “will empower gun traffickers, making it easier for them transport the guns they sell to criminals without being apprehended by law enforcement. The bill threatens to further compromise the safety of our police officers, facing them with the increasingly difficult task of distinguishing between the legal and illegal possession of a firearm.”

This bill could be up for a vote in the U.S. Senate as early as today.

Attached please find copies of the letters sent to the Senators.