Newtown Action Alliance Statement on the House Judiciary Committee Vote on Three Gun Control Bills
For Immediate Release
September 11, 2019
Contact:
John Kelley
917-679-6475
Newtown Action Alliance Statement on
the House Judiciary Committee Vote on Three Gun Control Bills
Newtown, CT - Po Murray, Chairwoman of the Newtown Action Alliance released the following statement in response to the House Judiciary passage of three critical gun control bills on September 10, 2019.
“We applaud Chairman Jerry Nadler and the members of the House Judiciary who voted to advance life-saving gun control bills to help end gun violence in America.
“H.R. 1186, the Keep Americans Safe Act to ban high-capacity ammunition magazines with ten or more rounds; H.R. 1236, the Extreme Risk Protection Order Act of 2019 to provide due process to remove firearms from individuals who are at risk of hurting themselves or others; and H.R. 2708, the Disarm Hate Act to prohibit individuals convicted of misdemeanor hate crimes from buying and possessing guns, will help to save lives.
“Since the mass murder of 20 children and six educators in Sandy Hook, we have been pushing for a set of comprehensive federal policies to end all forms of gun violence in America. In February, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 8, The Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2019, and H.R. 1112, Enhanced Background Checks Act of 2019,as the first step to reduce gun deaths and injuries in America. We implore all members of the House of Representatives to support H.R. 1186, H.R. 1236 and H.R. 2708 as the next step, then work to pass additional gun control bills such asH.R. 1296, with 211 bipartisan cosponsors to ban assault weapons, H.R. 2867, Ethan’s Law,to set the federal standards for safe storage of firearms and H.R.1705, Jaime's Law,to require background checks on ammunition purchases.
“In 2018, voters elected a majority in the House of Representatives who support gun control measures. We encourage the House of Representatives to continue to take bold action to end the scourge of gun violence that is impacting too many of our communities. We also demand that the Senate take immediate action to pass these bills that are supported by the majority of Americans and send them to President Trump for his signature. Senator McConnell should not be allowed to stifle discussion in the Senate on this vital issue.
“Gun violence is a national public health emergency!
● In 2017,40,000 Americans were killed by guns, the highest level in 40 years, and tens of thousands are injured by guns.
● Mass shooting incidents are increasing and getting deadlier.
● Nearly one third of Americans avoid public spaces and eventsdue to fear of getting shot and killed.
● More than 4.1 million students participated in at least one lockdown drill from 2017-2018, negatively impacting their mental health
“Congress has not passed a single substantive federal gun control legislation in 25 years. It’s time for Congress and President Trump to take action. We implore all elected officials to embrace March for Our Lives’ Peace Planand GVPedia’s Denver Accord, comprehensive policy prescriptions to end all forms of gun violence in America.”
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Newtown Action Alliance (http://alliance.newtownaction.org/) is a Newtown-based, national grassroots organization formed after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings. Our mission is to achieve the steady and continuous reduction of gun violence through legislative and cultural changes.