Gun Violence

Gun violence is a public health crisis that has impacted far too many Americans. We cannot stand by and accept a status quo where approximately one mass shooting occurs every single day and gun violence kills as many people as car accidents every year. 

I am inspired to see young people from all across the country doing everything they can to make their schools and communities safer places to live and learn  I share their passion, their determination, and their frustration with a Congress that has repeatedly failed to enact widely-supported, common-sense protections to address the gun violence epidemic in America. They, and the vast majority of Americans, agree that we can do more to stop criminals and the seriously mentally ill from getting guns while also ensuring that law-abiding, responsible citizens can freely own them. 

Examples of common-sense reforms I support include:

• Universal background checks, which would help prevent domestic abusers, the seriously mentally ill, and criminals from acquiring deadly weapons
• Bans on military-style assault weapons and bump stocks, as well as a limit on high-capacity ammunition magazines, which would continue to allow Americans to exercise their Second Amendment rights while keeping weapons of war off our streets
• The Denying Firearms and Explosives to Dangerous Terrorists Act (H.R.4057), which would ensure that individuals on the FBI’s terrorist watch list cannot purchase firearms or explosives
• Overturning the Dickey Amendment and providing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention the funding they need to study gun violence the same way they study other threats to public health
• Waiting period laws that guard against impulsive acts of violence and provide law enforcement agencies the time they need to conduct thorough background checks
• Reinstating the Obama era rule that helped prevent certain mentally ill individuals from being able to purchase a firearm.
• Cracking down on firearms trafficking and “straw purchases” where convicted felons get their hands on firearms by having others make the actual purchases

I firmly believe that both Republicans and Democrats can work together to find common-sense solutions that will decrease gun violence without compromising the Second Amendment. I stand with young people across the country calling for action, the parents who have called my office crying after dropping their children off at school, and the vast majority of Americans who are all convinced that sensible gun violence reform will save lives.  Americans have a fundamental, constitutional right to live free from the threat of gun violence in their communities, and I am committed to doing everything in my power to make that a reality.