With more than 30,000 people killed and several times that number injured by guns each year in the United States, ensuring safe communities is our highest priority. Many of these tragedies could be prevented through reasonable distribution and design reforms on the part of responsible firearms manufacturers. As representatives of communities throughout the nation who purchase firearms for public safety purposes, we have a unique ability to express our desire for safety through our procurement choices and a corresponding responsibility to ensure that our choices reflect our concerns.

We, therefore, pledge to support using as a criterion in our firearms purchasing, a consideration of whether companies have agreed - at a minimum - to adhere to a new code of responsible conduct. This code provides for safer gun designs and a distribution system that makes it harder for guns to get into the hands of criminals and children. This consideration will apply only to equipment that meets law enforcement needs, and only to comparable equipment available at a comparable price.

We firmly believe that this pledge will make our communities safer and reduce the awful toll of gun violence in our nation.