Many people were scratching their heads when Augusta Mayor Hardie Davis Jr. failed to show up for the July 19 Augusta Commission meeting. A photograph and a news article published in Route Fifty shows the mayor in New York City for the “Mayors Against Illegal Guns Summit.”
The summit, hosted by New York City Mayor Eric Adams, focused on suing gun manufacturers who make popular handgun models that often end up in the hands of criminals, despite stringent gun purchasing laws and background checks, according to Route Fifty, a digital publication that “connects the people and ideas advancing state, county and municipal government across the United States,” according to its website.
Glock, Taurus, Smith & Wesson, Ruger and Polymer80 are the main targets for possible legal action, and Mayors Against Illegal Guns also wants to create a national database of illegal weapons purchased.
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According to Richmond County Chief Deputy Pat Clayton, guns that end up being confiscated and then auctioned off later are logged in their system and can be traced back if the gun is again used in the commission of a crime.
However, Clayton says that the majority of guns making it into the hands of criminals are sold on places like CraigsList, and there is no way for law enforcement to track those weapons.
“The person privately selling the firearm likely does not know if the person has a criminal record or a drug problem, they aren’t required to ask for a background check,” Clayton said.
Davis attended the summit along with 13 other mayors from across the nation.
As reported earlier, Davis has missed 14 Augusta Commission and committee meetings over the past calendar year. Many of those absences are likely due to his heavy travel schedule.
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The Mayor’s Office does not keep an official travel log, send press releases ahead of a mayoral trip or post pictures of his travels on the official website or social media.
Curious citizens were the ones who discovered that Davis took two trips to the middle eastern nation of Qatar in 2021.
Davis took part in a mayor’s conference on climate change in Qatar which, ironically, is the 14th largest oil producer in the world.
Meanwhile, Augusta Commissioners are also taking advantage of their increased travel budgets. Most of the Commission are currently in Aurora, Colorado at the National Association of Counties convention.
Outgoing Commissioner John Clarke is among those on the trip. Clarke leaves office in five months.
Scott Hudson is the senior reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com
