Nickels to host summit on gun crime

Preventing gun crimes will be the focus of a summit Monday that is expected to draw dozens of police officers and civic leaders from around the state to Seattle.

Mayor Greg Nickels, along with Harborview Medical Center's Injury and Research Prevention Center, is hosting the conference in an effort to draw up better strategies to reduce violent crime and stop criminals from obtaining firearms.

It's expected to draw about 150 people, including police, prosecutors, church leaders and school officials. During the one-day conference at the Bell Harbor International Conference Center, they'll hear from experts who will share how efforts elsewhere have worked.

"The idea is to ... invite them here and take a day to educate and talk about how gun violence is affecting our communities and how we can build some common ground and address this issue in Seattle and elsewhere," Nickels' spokesman, Marty McOmber, said.

The conference follows a summer that saw several shootings downtown, and as authorities say they're seeing resurgence in gang-related violence. Seattle still has a relatively low rate of violent crime.

"I think we want to try and talk together at this conference about what might be feasible in this state. I want to come in with an open mind about what we can do," said Fred Rivara, a University of Washington professor of pediatrics and epidemiology and former director of the Injury and Research Prevention Center, who is scheduled to speak.

Rivara is noted for his research into the use of guns in youth and domestic violence from a public health perspective.

Nickels and Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske have advocated for tougher gun-control laws and more collaboration in collecting trace data from police-confiscated weapons and urged the Legislature last year to enact stricter regulations on sales at private gun shows.

Opponents say the legislation, which failed to gain traction, would do little to stop criminals from getting guns and would have been unnecessary, as gun shows in the Puget Sound area are sponsored by a private organization that already screens its members' backgrounds.

The Joyce Foundation, a Chicago-based non-profit that advocates for more restrictive gun-control laws, provided grant money to pay for the conference.

Other speakers include: Garen Wintemute, a professor of emergency medicine at the University of California-Davis; Police Chief Scott Knight of Chaska, Minn., who is chairman of the International Association of Chiefs of Police firearms committee; and Nina Vinik, legal director for the Legal Community Against Violence.