Gun Control and Safety

Last year, over 39,000 people died of gunshot wounds. Americans understand we need to stop the carnage: 64% of Americans want more strict gun control legislation. Yet the federal government does nothing to stop thousands of unnecessary deaths. Why? The National Rifle Association, which spends millions lobbying Congress every year representing the interests of the gun industry. The gun control controversy isn’t driven by the Second Amendment. It’s fueled by corporate power.

Gun control legislation doesn’t aim to restrict rights, it seeks to prevent preventable deaths. By banning assault-style weapons, mandating universal background checks, and preventing those most at risk from accessing firearms, we will do what the American people want and need. We will save lives.

 

Why We Need It

In 2019 alone, the U.S. suffered 418 mass shootings. 1.2 million Americans have been shot in the last decade. Gun violence is a public health emergency. With the responsibility to protect the fundamental right to life of every citizen, it is the legal and moral obligation of government to act.

 

What We Are Fighting For

We’ll pass common-sense gun control. We will fight to:

• Require universal background checks and eliminate the gun show loophole
• Ban the sale of semi-automatic weapons and assault weapons
• Create a mandatory waiting period when purchasing a gun from any dealer
• Ban bump stocks and high-capacity magazines
• Reinstate Obama-era restrictions on the capacity of the mentally ill to buy a gun
• Require child safety locks on all firearms
• Institute stringent control of child access to and use of firearms
• Pass Extreme Risk Protection Order Laws nationwide, so family members and law enforcement can pursue court permission to temporarily remove guns from an individual in danger of hurting themselves or others.
• Require gun licenses to include more thorough training, coursework, and stipulations (such as periodic renewal and age restrictions), similar to driver’s licenses
• Empower the Center for Disease Control (CDC) to fully study gun ownership (the CDC is currently barred from studying the topic, preventing data-driven policy proposals) and explore the connection between pharmaceuticals and suicidal & homicidal conduct

Provide a voluntary buyback program for gun owners who no longer wish to exercise their 2nd Amendment right to sell their firearms back to the government

 

What It Will Do

With pragmatic gun safety measures, Americans won’t live in fear. Just as regulations requiring seat belts, airbags, and driver training have saved thousands from car accident fatalities, gun control will save lives. The evidence is overwhelming: statewide universal background check laws are associated with 15% lower homicide rates compared to other policies. When gun buyers are vetted for criminal records and trained to use and store their firearms responsibly, students won’t fear for their lives in classrooms.