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Gun Violence Prevention

 

 

 

 


Congresswoman Tsongas speaks on the House Floor about the Newtown tragedy

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 tragedy must be a call to action. Our response to Newtown must not and cannot go the way of the many other senseless acts of violence we now witness almost routinely. 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 the most high profile attacks – raises compelling questions about the accessibility of violent weapons in our society.

 

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 ensure such laws and enable research to be done that would help shed light on how best we can prevent future tragedies, such as 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 will examine ways of reducing and preventing gun violence and compile a comprehensive set of policy proposals and legislative initiatives.

 

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 a federal assault weapons ban and plan to do so again once legislation is reintroduced in the 113th Congress

 

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. High capacity magazines 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 support 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.