WASHINGTON – During National Gun Violence Awareness Month, U.S. Senators Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) on Friday authored an op-ed in Time Magazine outlining the need for Congressional action to end the epidemic of gun violence in this country. Since their time in the Senate, Murphy and Feinstein have been vocal critics of our nation’s gun laws and have proposed commonsense gun violence prevention legislation. Last week marked 100 days since the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Bipartisan Background Checks Act. The bill has not come up for a vote in the Senate.  

Excerpts from the op-ed are below and can be viewed here.

“Another week, another community ripped apart by a mass shooting. Most recently it was Virginia Beach, where a shooter on May 31 killed 12 people in a municipal building,” the senators wrote.

“In the last decade, we have seen students and educators gunned down in school shootings in Parkland and Newtown. Parishioners murdered in a church in Charleston. A massacre at an outdoor music venue in Las Vegas. A nightclub in Orlando. A theater in Aurora. A mall in Burlington. A college in Blacksburg. A church in Sutherland Springs.”

“As members of Congress whose lives – personal and professional – have been shaped and affected by senseless gun violence, we refuse to grow numb to these heartbreaking events. While cable news has developed a well-worn process for mass shootings, for us each one is a fresh wound.”

“One thing is clear: the laws on the books are insufficient and an ineffective deterrent. The proof is in the ever-increasing death toll, and an overwhelming majority of Americans now agrees we should implement stricter gun regulations. But sadly, too many of our Republican colleagues continue to block change and allow the gun lobby to write our laws,” the senators continued.

“We need to make sure family members and police have legal ways to keep guns away from individuals who are a threat to themselves and others.”

“A proposal with even more public support is universal background checks. Ninety-seven percent of Americans support background checks – including a majority of gun owners. But right now, anyone can go to a gun show or online and buy a gun with no background check at all.”

“The vast majority of background checks are completed in under 90 seconds. But if there is a red flag that means a background check takes longer to complete. It’s worth waiting that extra time to determine whether an individual should be barred from purchasing a firearm.”

“Guns like the AR-15 aren’t used for hunting and they’re not viable for home protection. They have only one purpose, and that’s to fire as many rounds as possible, as quickly as possible.”

“How long will voters allow their elected officials to remain out of step with their views?” the senators added.

“Those of us in Washington certainly have different positions and represent different constituents, but passing laws that will keep our communities safe from gun violence is only controversial in the halls of Congress.” 

“We have to break this cycle of gun deaths. We owe it to our voters and our children. We can’t allow our inaction to re-traumatize gun violence survivors.” 

Read the full op-ed here.

 

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