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Record Bee - Home Lake County News Story Letter to House speaker demands vote to address gun violence

June 27, 2014
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By Staff

In the wake of recent shootings in Portland, Ore., Las Vegas, Nev. and Santa Barbara, Congress members Carol Shea-Porter (D-New Hampshire), a member of the House's Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, and Mike Thompson (D-St. Helena), the task force's chairman, led a letter to Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) signed by 163 members of Congress demanding a vote on substantive legislation to address gun violence.

"Our nation has suffered at least 74 school shootings since the Sandy Hook massacre," the letter stated. "The factors allowing these rampages are no mystery: loopholes in the background check laws, straw purchases, restrictions on law enforcement and gaps in our mental health system. Dozens of legislative proposals that address these factors have been introduced and await consideration. But despite wake-up call after wake-up call, a shameful tradition of Congressional inaction continues."

"Moments of silence on the floor of the House are not enough. The last thing these victims and their families need is further silence from this Congress. They deserve a vote," it continued.

Recently on the floor of the House of Representatives, Shea-Porter called on Boehner to allow a vote on legislation to help prevent more deaths from gun violence.

The Gun Violence Prevention Task Force also released a comprehensive set of policy principles to help reduce gun violence and respect the Second Amendment.

Of those recommendations, one of the most notable pieces is House Bill 1565, which aims to strengthen and expand background checks. The legislation bolsters the Second Amendment rights of lawful gun owners and helps keep guns from criminals, terrorists and the dangerously mentally ill, according to Austin Vevurka, Thompson's senior advisor.

Currently, a criminal in many states can buy a firearm at a gun show, over the Internet or through a newspaper ad because those sales don't require a background check, Vevurka stated. The bill requires comprehensive and enforceable background checks on all commercial gun sales, including those at gun shows, over the Internet or through classified ads, while providing reasonable exceptions for family and friends. Background checks would be conducted though a licensed dealer in the same manner as they have been for more than 40 years. The bill also bans the creation of a federal registry and makes the misuse of records a felony, punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

"Congressional silence is not a sign of respect, but rather an institutional indictment," the letter concluded. "We must right this wrong. You must allow a vote on substantive legislation to address gun violence."

Issues:Gun Violence Prevention