Gun Safety

I was just 16 years old when a bullet severed my spinal cord. What happened to me was nothing more than a tragic accident, a misfired weapon in a police station locker room. I was not targeted because of my race, religion, gender or sexuality. I was not the victim of a mass shooting. I was just a kid standing in the wrong place at the wrong time. Even so, my accident is a reminder of the devastating damage guns can cause, even when the damage is not intentional. I am committed to protecting our communities from future gun violence by implementing meaningful gun safety reform.   

Supporting the Second Amendment and passing sensible gun reform measures are not mutually exclusive. I support reinstating a national ban on assault weapons, which have been used in recent mass shootings. These military-grade weapons have no place in our communities. Stricter background check laws are necessary to close the loophole that allows the transfer of a firearm to take place if a background check is not completed in three days. I support strengthening the resources of the National Instant Criminal Background Check System database. These are reasonable changes that protect our communities without infringing on the rights of gun owners to arm themselves for self-defense and hunting. Many of my constituents are responsible gun owners, and I believe Congress can protect their rights without allowing senseless gun violence to continue every day across America.  

After winning the majority of seats in the House of Representatives in 2018, Democrats made gun safety a top priority. One of the first bills to pass the House during the 116th Congress was the Bipartisan Backgrounds Check Act. The bill would make it illegal to transfer a firearm to another individual unless a licensed gun dealer or manufacturer conduct a background check first. 97 percent of Americans think we need expanded background checks, and I was pleased to support action on this pressing issue.

The Brady Campaign to End Gun Violence found that nearly 90 percent of guns used in crimes come from just 5 percent of gun dealers. I am proud to have authored and introduced the Keeping Gun Dealers Honest Act, which would help put an end to illegal gun sales and reduce gun violence by strengthening accountability measures for irresponsible gun dealers and providing the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives with additional resources for enforcement. We must close the loopholes that allow dealers to illegally sell lethal weapons to criminals.  

I am also proud to be an original cosponsor of several major gun safety bills, including the Disarm Hate Act, the Firearm Safety Act, the Firearms Dealer Code of Conduct Act, and the Stop Online Ammunition Sales Act.

Unfortunately, Congress has not passed gun safety legislation in more than a decade. Despite the rise of mass shootings in America, the GOP has worked hard to block our attempts at meaningful change. The attacks at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Pulse night club in Orlando, Virginia Tech, Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, and the small Baptist church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, represent just a few of the deadliest shootings in our nation’s history. 

It was after the shooting at Pulse in Orlando, after we lost 49 more lives to senseless violence, that my colleagues and I staged a historic sit-in on the House Floor to demand Speaker Paul Ryan allow a vote on proposals to expand background checks and prohibit individuals on the No-Fly List from being able to purchase firearms. It is not enough to honor these innocent victims with thoughts and prayers. It is time for Congress to act. If not now, then when?