Gun Control Advocates to Gather Signatures at 'National Night Out' Gathering

Gun control advocates hoping to tap into support for public safety will gather at Mercerdale Park at the same time as a city-hosted "National Night Out" gathering, seeking signatures for a planned initiative with a "mass signing event"

Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America is urging supporters in a July 26 email to gather at Mercerdale Park at around 7 p.m. and circulate petitions for Initiative 594, which would require background checks for all gun sales in Washington state, and to gather for a group photo.

Dozens of Mercer Island neighborhoods are scheduled to host National Night Out parties from 6-9 p.m. on Aug. 6, including the first such gathering in the city's Town Center area in Mercerdale Park.

City Councilwoman Tana Senn, who also supports the initiative, said the group was not part of the city's National Night Out event for residents of the Central Business District, but the gathering is a public event.

"Anybody can come and talk to anyone they want on public property," Senn said. "National Night Out is purely to raise awareness of Emergency Prepoaredness and to build neighborly connections."

"I defintely support the initiative and background checks. I think they're being smart and trying to get people to sign up there but it's not an official part of the event," she said.

Moms Demand Action also hosted a sign-up table at this year's Mercer Island Summer Celebration street fair on 77th Ave. SE earlier this month, gathering signatures.

In order to be placed on the ballot in early as 2014, organizers must present 246,372 valid signatures to the Washington Secretary of State's office by Jan. 3. An opposing initiative to block any local background checks, I-591, has also been filed and is supported largely by the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms of Bellevue.

National Night Out is an "organized event designed to bring neighbors together to heighten crime prevention awareness, generate support for family emergency preparedness and to strengthen neighborhood spirit and community partnerships," according to a city press release.