Today is National Gun Violence Awareness Day. At the time of writing this, there have already been 199 mass shootings in 2024, and in the last 72 hours, there have been 230 reported shootings in the United States.
From Columbine to Sandy Hook to Parkland to Uvalde — and far too many others — our classrooms have become the scene of incomprehensible devastation too many times, as have our theaters, our concerts, our grocery stores, even our places of worship.
Gun violence is a public health crisis, and I am grateful for organizations including Newtown Action Alliance, Moms Demand Action, and the Alliance for Gun Responsibility Victory Fund for their work to curb the epidemic.
Having the support of these groups both on the ground in our communities as well as having their endorsement on the campaign trail makes a meaningful impact. Together, we are showing other policymakers that ending the gun violence epidemic in this country is possible and a winning issue at the polls.
I am committed to ending the violence and leading the charge for common-sense gun reform.
Last June, I supported and Congress passed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the first major legislation on gun safety since 1994. The bill contained a set of reforms that are both meaningful enough to make a difference and modest enough to overcome the filibuster. This legislation:
- enhances background checks for 18- to 21-year-old gun buyers;
- closes the so-called boyfriend loophole and restricts gun ownership for domestic violence offenders who are not married to their partners;
- creates financial incentives for states to adopt red-flag laws; and
- funds school safety and youth mental health programs.
While these reforms do not go as far as many – including me – would prefer, they are a step in the right direction and will save lives.
Other sensible, pragmatic steps that Congress can take – which I have voted for and which are supported by strong majorities of Americans – include:
- establishing universal background checks to keep guns out of the hands of criminals;
- banning large-capacity magazines and bump stocks to reduce the lethality of weapons;
- requiring safe storage to keep guns out of the hands of children; and
- raising the legal age for buying semiautomatic rifles to 21, which would have prevented the shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde.
There is so much work to be done on this issue, and I, alongside the Alliance for Gun Responsibility Victory Fund, will never let up on creating safer communities for our families.
More soon,
Rick
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