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Gun Violence Prevention

As a hunter and gun owner I believe we should protect a law-abiding individual’s Second Amendment right to own firearms. As a dad and grandfather I also believe that we have a responsibility to make our schools, streets and communities safe. We can do both, but Congress will need to step up. <br />
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After being named chair of the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force in the U.S. House of Representatives, I held a series of open town halls in our district that examined some of the actions that Congress could take. Hundreds attended these meetings. I heard views from law enforcement officials, mental health experts, school officials, NRA members and gun control advocates. Many feared that their Second Amendment rights would come under attack when my task force made its recommendations to Congress. Others wanted to cast those rights aside. <br />
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I believe both views are too extreme. I will never give up my guns and I will never ask law-abiding Americans without a history of dangerous mental illness to give up theirs. Not only am I personally against this, the Constitution does not allow it. In District of Columbia v. Heller the Supreme Court affirmed once and for all that Americans have a right to keep and bear arms.<br />
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However, just as the First Amendment protects free speech but doesn't allow you to incite violence, the Second Amendment has restrictions too. As conservative justice Anthony Scalia outlined, Heller does not prohibit laws forbidding firearms in places such as schools, nor does it restrict laws prohibiting felons and the mentally ill from carrying guns.<br />
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This ruling provides people on both sides of the issue with an opportunity to work within the confines of the Second Amendment and pass legislation that will reduce and prevent gun violence. <br />
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My task force released a <a href="http://mikethompson.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=31929… set of policy principles</a> that will reduce gun violence and respect the Second Amendment. <br />
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Of those recommendations, the single most important thing Congress can do is pass <a href="http://mikethompson.house.gov/backgroundchecks">H.R. 1565</a>, the bipartisan legislation that I co-authored with Peter King of New York to strengthen and expand our background check system. This bill bolsters the Second Amendment rights of lawful gun owners and helps keep guns from criminals, terrorists and the dangerously mentally ill.<br />
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H.R. 1565 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 for more than 40 years. <br />
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H.R. 1565 is pro-lawful gun owner, pro-Second Amendment, and anti-criminal. <br />
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Right now, 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. Last year, the background check system identified and denied 88,000 gun sales to criminals, domestic abusers, those with dangerous mental illnesses, and other prohibited purchasers. However, those same criminals could buy those same guns at a gun show or over the Internet without any questions asked. H.R. 1565 closes this huge loophole, greatly reducing the number of places a criminal can buy a gun. <br />
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H.R. 1565 supports the Second Amendment. It provides reasonable exceptions for firearm transfers between family and friends. You won’t have to get a background check when you inherit the family rifle, borrow a friend’s shotgun for a hunting trip, or purchase a gun from a buddy or neighbor. &nbsp;<br />
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It bans the creation of a federal registry and makes the misuse of records a felony, punishable by up to 15 years in prison; it allows active duty military to buy firearms in their home states and the state in which they are stationed; it authorizes the use of a state concealed carry permit in lieu of a background check to purchase a firearm; and, it allows interstate handgun sales from licensed dealers.<br />
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H.R. 1565 is consistent with Heller and will help keep our communities safe. This debate on background checks isn't a choice between either protecting the Second Amendment or reducing gun violence. It's about the willingness of a responsible majority to do both.

March 7, 2024

Washington – Today, Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-04) released the following statement to preview President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address to Congress.


March 6, 2024

Washington – Today, Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-04) announced that Liz Burrell Russell, the former manager of The Pathway Home in Yountville, will be his guest to the State of the Union. On March 9, 2018, the Pathway Home was the site of a murder-suicide that took the lives of three innocent women.


March 6, 2024

Washington – Today, Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-04) voted to pass the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024, a set of six domestic funding bills focused on helping families and communities across the United States.


February 14, 2024

Washington – Today, Gun Violence Prevention Task Force ChairRep. Mike Thompson (CA-04) and Rep. Jared Moskowitz (FL-23) released the following statements on the 6th anniversary of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.


January 11, 2024

Today, House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force Chair Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-04) and Rep. Diana DeGette (CO-01) alongside House Democratic Leadership announced the filing of a discharge petition for the Keep Americans Safe Act, an effort to force a House vote on a ban of large capacity magazines.


January 5, 2024

Today, Chair of the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force Mike Thompson (CA-04) applauded the Department of Justice (DOJ) announcement that over 500 illegal gun purchases by Americans under the age of 21 have been stopped thanks to the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act.


November 30, 2023

Today, Gun Violence Prevention Task Force ChairRep. Mike Thompson (CA-04) and Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (NY-08) released statements recognizing the 30th anniversary of the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act being signed into law.


November 14, 2023

Today, House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force ChairRep. Mike Thompson (CA-04) joined Rep. Dan Goldman (NY-10) and Rep. Joaquin Castro (TX-20) to introducethe ‘Disarming Cartels Act’ to curtail the trafficking of U.S.-made firearms and ammunition south-bound over the U.S.-Mexico border.


October 30, 2023

Today, Gun Violence Prevention Task Force Chair Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-04) issued the following statement on the National Rifle Association’s advertisement featuring Speaker Mike Johnson.