Top federal and state law enforcement officials to weigh-in on gun violence issue

On Tuesday, April 9, 2013, the third of a five-part series of special informational hearings on “Curbing Gun Violence” will begin during the Oakland County Board of Commissioners’ Public Services Committee meeting. The meeting begins at 11:30 a.m. and will follow the regular agenda items. The meeting will be held in the Oakland County Board of Commissioners’ Committee Room A, located 1200 Telegraph Road in Pontiac, Michigan and will be webcast live.

Public Services Committee Chairman Bill Dwyer and Commissioner Marcia Gershenson are continuing their bipartisan effort to Examine How Oakland County Citizens Are Protected From Gun Violence. Commissioner Dwyer, who is a former Police Chief and Commissioner Marcia Gershenson, who is a former teacher, have outlined a five-part informational series. The third informational hearing will include the following law enforcement panelists to speak from a federal and state law enforcement perspective.

The panel includes:

• U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan Barbara L. McQuade
• Chief of Police Franklin-Bingham Farms Dept. Daniel D. Robert (Retired Assistant Director of the FBI)
• First Lieutenant/Commander of Legislative and Legal Resources Chris Hawkins of the Michigan State Police.

“There is no simple answer or one size fits all easy solution to Gun Violence. We are looking at loopholes and the background check system of which there is only a 40% compliance rate. This hearing will provide a unique opportunity to hear from high profile individuals from the federal and state level who work with our existing protections every day. We all want to learn from their unique perspectives,” stated Oakland County Commissioner and former Police Chief, William Dwyer.

He went on to state, “Preventing gun violence is a complex task and involves a cooperative effort from every involved agency.

Reflecting on past informational hearings, Commissioner Marcia Gershenson states, “Previous panels have shared some valuable insight on how we can close gun loopholes. I believe this distinguished panel of federal and state experts will help us create a safe county, I look forward to their input, which will help us address the needs in our county.”

All meetings are open to the public and public input is welcome. To watch all webcasts, go to http://www.oakland.michiganliveevents.com/oakgov.com. To find out about upcoming meetings, go to www.oakgov/boc.com and click on the upcoming news section.