Montezuma Police Chief Back from Washington D.C., Pushes for Universal Background Checks for Gun Sales

MONTEZUMA, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – Montezuma’s top cop was chosen to go to White House to meet with our country’s leaders and share his thoughts on the gun control debate.

Montezuma Police Chief Eric Finch was selected by the National Law Enforcement Partnership to Prevent Gun Violence to represent the organization in Washington D.C. this week.

“To protect and serve.” Finch says officers can do their job better if nation leaders require universal background checks on gun sales.

“It will help law enforcement officers be able to continue to trace a gun and hopefully be able to lock someone up if somebody got shot,” Finch said.

That is what he told Vice President Joe Biden and State Senator Saxby Chambliss on Tuesday. Finch, along with dozens of police chiefs from across the country, were invited to Washington this week. Their mission was to push for universal background checks. This would require everyone purchasing a gun, whether in a store, online, or at guns shows, to go through an FBI background check.

“We can’t stop all types of crime, criminals are still going to get guns, but we want to deter the number of guns that will be going on the street and by doing that, that will save lives,” Finch said.

He says they don’t want to take away your guns. Instead, they want to clean up the system and close the loopholes.

Finch says Washington listened, now it is up to lawmakers to continue the discussion. If it becomes law, Finch can say he made history.

“That’s something you can always hang your hat on that you were able to use your position, the influence that you have to change national laws.”

Finch says it was a humbling experience and he was grateful to be selected.

While at the White House, Finch also pushed for federal funding to put police officers in schools and make trafficking guns a federal crime.