Bill Search

  • Twitter Push

Gun Violence Prevention

 

 

 

 



Congresswoman Tsongas speaks on the House Floor about the Newtown tragedy

OVERVIEW

Members from both sides of the aisle have acknowledged that it is time for a conversation about the accessibility of high capacity weapons in our country and the culture of violence we live in.

I believe this conversation is long overdue. It is simply not an option to allow this discussion to again become stagnant or to be bullied into silence by seemingly untouchable organizations.

Every corner of America was deeply affected by the tragic loss of so many lives in Newtown, Connecticut when a gunman opened fire at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14, 2012. This senseless attack, as well as those at a Sikh Temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, against Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) and 18 others in Tucson, against faculty and college students at Virginia Tech, and at a high school in Columbine, CO – to name only a few of the high profile attacks – raises compelling questions about the accessibility of violent weapons in our society. To date, Congress has failed to act in any significant way to curb gun violence and keep dangerous weapons out of the hands of those who wish to do others harm. These tragedies must be a call to action. Our response must not be hijacked by special interest groups and be intimidated into inaction.

A CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT

To be clear, I believe that law abiding citizens have a constitutional right to own firearms, whether for sport or personal protection. The right of an individual to bear arms is clearly stated in the Second Amendment of our Constitution and has been repeatedly upheld by the Supreme Court. The majority of gun owners and members of national gun organizations are responsible, law-abiding citizens who agree with commonsense laws to keep firearms out of the hands of dangerous people. However, lobbyists and leaders from national gun organizations have frequently blocked legislation that would enact such laws and enable research to be done that would help shed light on how best to prevent future tragedies, such as examining the relationship between firearms and mental health.

While I believe that the Constitution confers a right to own firearms, I also believe that our laws should be able to reasonably control gun manufacturing, sale, and usage to ensure that firearms are used safely and responsibly. The changing nature of weapons toward more military style firearms has changed the conversation and added greater safety risk to the public.

ACTION TO PREVENT GUN VIOLENCE

After the tragedy in Newtown, President Obama assigned Vice President Biden to head a commission that would examine gun violence in America and submit proposals to help stop future tragedies.

In January, 2013 I submitted a letter to Vice President Joe Biden outlining my recommendations aimed at curbing gun violence.

I also joined the House Democratic Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, which is examining ways of reducing and preventing gun violence and has compiled a comprehensive set of policy proposals and legislative initiatives.

 The Commission assigned by the President outlined 19 approaches that the Obama Administration could take in the effort to reduce gun violence.

POLICY PROPOSALS

I believe there are several commonsense measures we can take that will make great strides toward preventing gun violence, while fully respecting and protecting an individual’s constitutional right to own firearms.

REINSTATE THE FEDERAL BAN ON MILITARY-STYLE, CIVILIAN ASSAULT WEAPONS.

Such a targeted ban would protect law enforcement and civilians by keeping these high capacity guns, which were not designed for hunting and have virtually no sporting purposes, off the streets. Since being elected to Congress, I have supported legislation to reinstate a federal assault weapons ban. In April, 2014 I joined 80 other members of Congress in a letter to President Obama urging him to reinstate the ban on the importation of military style firearms. 

BAN LARGE CAPACITY FEEDING DEVICES, ALSO KNOWN AS HIGH CAPACITY MAGAZINES

In order to best keep our law enforcement officials and our communities safe, I support prohibiting civilians from obtaining magazines, belts, drums, or similar devices that have a capacity of more than 10 rounds of ammunition and were used in the Newtown and Aurora massacres.

STRENGTHEN MANDATORY BACKGROUND CHECKS AND CLOSE THE PRIVATE SALE LOOPHOLE

Under current law, private gun sellers are not required to conduct any background check on their buyers. I am a cosponsor of the Fix Gun Check Act, which would require the federal government to send all necessary records on felons, drug abusers, and seriously mentally ill and other dangerous people to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). It would also require an instant background check on every gun buyer, regardless if the purchase was made from a federal licensed seller or a private seller. According to Mayors Against Illegal Guns, an estimated 40% of gun sales in 2012 were made through private purchasers, and roughly 6.6 million guns were sold without any background check.

 CLOSE THE FIRE SALE LOOPHOLE THAT ALLOWS GUN DEALERS WHO HAVE HAD THEIR LICENSES REVOKED TO CONTINUE SELLING FIREARMS

Under current law, when a gun dealer has their license revoked or denied renewal by the federal government, they are permitted to convert their gun inventory into a private collection to be sold without the requirement of performing a background check on the purchaser.  While the majority of federally licensed dealers are legitimate businesses who work hard to keep their federal licensing, we cannot allow those who break the law to continue selling guns, with even less oversight and regulation.

CATALOG AND ELIMINATE POLITICALLY-MOTIVATED POLICY RIDERS THAT PREVENT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT FROM COLLECTING, SHARING, AND ANALYZING DATA ON GUNS AND GUN-RELATED VIOLENCE

A series of policy riders, many tucked into large appropriations bills, have for years hampered the federal response to gun violence, preventing the ATF from effectively sharing gun trace data with localities or from requiring gun dealers to check their inventories against loss or theft; requiring the FBI to destroy background checks, making it difficult to track down improperly-approved buyers; and preventing the CDC and the NIH from conducting research into the effectiveness of gun violence prevention programs, among others.  The public has the right to know the full extent to which such opaque riders have stymied federal efforts.  A catalog of them and a comprehensive review of each is necessary for an informed public discussion.

RENEW EFFORTS TO ADDRESS MENTAL HEALTH

In addition to these commonsense solutions, I hope to also see renewed effort to address our nation’s mental health funding crisis. I urge the Administration to fully fund the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration in its coming budget and take other steps to help communities identify and treat their troubled members. Preventing gun violence will take a comprehensive approach. Making sure that all options are part of the discussion must be part of that strategy.