'90%' Of Americans Want 'Common Sense' Gun Laws: Dems Pressed On GOP Opposition To Gun Reform

last year

House Democrats in the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force were asked about potential Republican opposition to gun reform.

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00:00You're up against a majority who have been very reluctant to cooperate on this issue.

00:09What about this do you think will be different, and why are you hopeful that this will go

00:15through?

00:16Well, you know, I am not under any illusion that they are going to cooperate, but we are

00:23appealing to the American people as well.

00:26We want the American public to know that despite our Republican colleagues' unwillingness to

00:31do what is right and to protect the safety of their communities, we're not going to stop.

00:38We're going to continue to build upon the work that we've done.

00:41There are advocates and gun safety organizations all around the country that stand with us

00:46and we're doing tremendous work.

00:48When I came into gun safety advocacy 10 years ago, I can tell you the countless number of

00:54times I would go to testify in state legislatures or to even come here and testify before the

01:01United States Senate, and there would be no one there with me.

01:05There would be no one to really help encourage me or encourage common sense gun safety legislation

01:12policy.

01:13But that's changed now.

01:15That has definitely changed now.

01:18There's not one mother, father, there's not one family in any community that I know of

01:24that is happy with the scourge of gun violence in our country.

01:28It is a public health crisis.

01:30It is an epidemic.

01:32And so we know and believe that we are doing the right thing.

01:36We are saving lives.

01:39And we'll continue to champion forward, but we will also continue to let the American

01:43public know that it is not us that holds up progress.

01:49And I'm hoping that our Republican colleagues will take heed to the voices of the people.

01:55Over 90% of the American public want common sense gun safety legislation.

02:00They believe there must be a balance of rights, gun rights, protecting Second Amendment gun

02:08rights with a balance of common sense measures to keep people safe.

02:15Let me just add, this is the process.

02:22We could avoid the discharge petition altogether if the Republican leadership would bring up

02:28before the body a vote on the bills that we on the task force and the American people

02:35know will make our communities safer and will save lives.

02:40But they've chosen not to.

02:42They've decided they're not going to bring any gun violence prevention legislation up.

02:48As a matter of fact, they've exacerbated things by removing the Veterans Administration from

02:55being able to ascertain information on veterans that are a danger to themselves or others.

03:03In legislation, in an amendment that they passed, they stopped that from being able

03:09to take place.

03:10At a time when 20 veterans a day are taking their own lives.

03:16So this is what we have.

03:18This is the only tool that we have through the rules of the House and the legislative

03:25process to be able to free this measure up that we know saves lives for a vote from the

03:33House of Representatives to bring it into law.

03:37And if I could just say one thing, that's where all of you come in.

03:40You know how hard we're working.

03:42This is my, I think, third gun violence press conference this month.

03:46You see familiar people and sometimes more legislators, sometimes less depending on committee.

03:53And that's how we need the media to come in to talk about what we're doing and talk about

03:58why we have not made more progress.

04:01Because as you've heard, what we're trying to do has saved lives, does save lives, and

04:05will save lives.

'90%' Of Americans Want 'Common Sense' Gun Laws: Dems Pressed On GOP Opposition To Gun Reform

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