Since the tragedy at Uvalde, the mass gun violence epidemic has continued to proliferate across the country with individuals using assault weapons legally purchased to kill people at hospitals, parades, and festivals. These tragedies are preventable, and we can help stop them by reducing the availability of the high-powered, semiautomatic guns that have made mass murders a horrific commonplace in our society.

Gun Violence Prevention and Mental Healthcare Expansion

I voted to pass the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act legislation that will protect America’s children, make our schools safer, and reduce the threat of gun violence across our country. This legislation is one of the most significant steps Congress has taken to reduce gun violence in decades, giving our law enforcement and prosecutors new tools to prosecute gun traffickers.

The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act expands background checks for individuals under the age of 21 purchasing firearms and prevents individuals who have been convicted of a domestic violence misdemeanor or felony in dating relationships from purchasing firearms for five years.

It provides $11 billion for mental health services, including increased funding for the Medicaid Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic program, increased funding for school-based mental health programs, investments in pediatric mental healthcare services, and provides $2 billion for community-based violence prevention initiatives.

Also, it provides $750 million for state grants to implement crisis intervention order programs, also referred to as red-flag laws, that would allow authorities to confiscate firearms from individuals who have been determined by a court to be a significant danger to themselves or others. The grants could also be used to support mental health courts, drug courts, veterans courts, and extreme risk protection orders.

Assault Weapons Ban

Eight of the ten deadliest mass shootings in recent American history have involved an assault weapon that would have been banned for purchase under the previous assault weapons ban, which expired in 2004, including mass shootings. That’s why I strongly support reinstating the Assault Weapons Ban.

Researchers estimate that if we still had a federal Assault Weapons Ban, we would see 70 percent fewer mass shooting deaths. In 6 out of the 10 deadliest mass shootings in recent American history (Orlando, Sutherland Springs, Las Vegas, Parkland, El Paso, Uvalde), the gunmen were able to legally purchase the assault weapons from a licensed dealer – in some cases weeks—before the shooting.