Newsroom

House Democrats on Thursday unveiled a set of 14 gun-control proposals broadly similar to recommendations made by an Obama administration task force led by Vice President Biden after the December massacre of 20 schoolchildren in Newtown, Conn.

The congressional group, spearheaded by Rep. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.), endorsed the same core proposals as the administration: a universal background check system for gun purchases, a ban on high-capacity magazines and a renewal of the lapsed assault weapons ban.

Rep. Mike Thompson (D-CA) along with House Democrats hold a news conference in the U.S. Capitol on Dec. 19, 2012 on banning high-capacity clips.

House Democrats unveiled its task force's plan to crack down on gun violence today, calling on Congress to enact an assault weapons ban, outlaw high-capacity assault magazines, and put in place universal background checks for every firearm sale.

Fifty-five days after the Newtown elementary school shooting, the 12-member task force devised its package as an unabashed attempt to capitalize on growing frustration over the recurring trend of high-profile gun crimes throughout the country.

Washington, D.C. -- Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, Congressman Mike Thompson, chairman of the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, and House Democratic leaders will hold a press conference Thursday announcing a comprehensive set of policy principles on reducing gun violence in America.

The principals, developed by the task force, are geared toward preventing gun violence while still respecting the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens.

The conference begins at 1:45 p.m. and will be streamed live at https://www.dems.gov/live.

Every day for the past 22 years, California's background checks have stopped about a dozen felons, mentally ill people and others from buying guns.

When prospective gun buyers stride into California gun stores such as Ron Kennedy's Canyon Sports in Martinez, they must swipe their driver's licenses or state IDs. That sets off a review process that runs their names not only through the same FBI criminal database other states use but also almost 20 other sources, from mental health records to DMV data. It's a check more rigorous than any other state's.

WASHINGTON -- In an effort to keep up pressure for new gun safety laws, nearly a dozen House Democrats are planning to bring victims of gun violence as their guests to the State of the Union later this month.

Members of Congress are each allowed to bring one guest to sit with them in the House gallery during President Barack Obama's address to the nation on Feb. 12. In a letter to Democratic colleagues last month, five House Democrats urged lawmakers to use the occasion to highlight the need for action on gun violence.

Rep. Mike Thompson, ,D-St. Helena, discusses causes and solutions to gun violence in America during an interfaith conversation about gun violence at Congregation Beth Shalom in Napa on Saturday.

An appreciable reduction in gun violence in this country requires cultural change, not constitutional amendment.

The right for U.S. citizens to bear arms through the Second Amendment was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2008. And it won't be challenged by the Congressional Gun Violence Task Force, led by local Rep. Mike Thompson, which is set to make its legislative recommendations this week.

Nor should it be challenged.

This country's problem of gun violence doesn't come from the law. It is rooted within our culture.