JUST IN: House Democrats In Gun Violence Prevention Task Force Hold Press Briefing

4 months ago

Members of the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force hold a press briefing.

Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:

https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript

Stay Connected
Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes
More From Forbes: http://forbes.com

Transcript

00:00Thank you all for being here.

00:08I'm Mike Thompson from California, and I have the privilege and the honor of chairing

00:14the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, and I'm here today with many of our colleagues

00:21who are on the task force, and we're here today to announce the filing of a discharge

00:27petition to force the Republican leadership to take some action to make our communities

00:33safer.

00:34This discharge petition on the floor today we're going to talk about is to bring the

00:45red flag bill that Congresswoman Lucy McBath has to a vote on the House floor.

00:51We know that red flag laws work.

00:54We know that they save lives.

00:57By using a red flag law, you're able to separate someone who is a danger to themselves or others

01:03from a firearm that they may have ownership of or possession of.

01:09As I said, I represent California, and California passed a red flag law in 2016, and they can

01:16document that that red flag law in California has stopped 58 mass shootings.

01:23We should be doing everything we can to make our communities safer, and that's what our

01:29task force has set out to do.

01:32We passed in the last Congress the Bipartisan Community Safety Act, and that was the first

01:39major piece of gun violence prevention legislation signed into law in 30 years, and it has a

01:47red flag provision in that.

01:51Congresswoman McBath's bill will ensure that the work that we did in that legislation and

01:56the money that we're able to secure can be better spent across all 50 states and save

02:03lives.

02:04So, thank you all for being here, and it's my pleasure to turn it over to a real stalwart

02:09and an icon in the gun violence prevention space, and that's Congresswoman Lucy McBath

02:15from Georgia.

02:16Well, I want to thank Chairman Thompson for his tremendous leadership for the Gun Violence

02:25Prevention Task Force here on the Hill.

02:28He's been leading in this work long before I came to Congress, and I can't tell you how

02:33valuable you are in leading us and giving us the charge, and I want to thank all of

02:39my colleagues that stand with me here today.

02:41They're all champions in the Front for Gun Safety and Safer Communities.

02:50I'm proud to be the lead sponsor of this legislation that is going to be discharged on the floor

02:56today, the Federal Extreme Risk Protection Order Act, with Congressman Carbajal, and

03:01the sponsor of the discharge petition that we have filed today that would bring the bill

03:06up for an immediate vote on the House floor.

03:10I have led this bill since 2019, and I have continued to hear stories from families everywhere

03:17I go and law enforcement all around the country about the lives that might have been saved

03:24if we had a red flag law in place.

03:29Stories like Mary Stiller Strobel, whose brother Ben was a combat veteran suffering from depression

03:37and PTSD.

03:41Ben had lost 30 pounds after his tour.

03:45Returning home, his father asked him about his weight loss.

03:50Ben replied that he couldn't eat, and he said that it was just so hard out there, Dad.

03:57It's just so hard, and everywhere I go, it smells like death.

04:02Ben was seeking treatment at a local VA hospital, but his family worried that in a moment of

04:09desperation, Ben might end his own life.

04:15Mary and her father drove to every gun store in their community.

04:22They showed these store photos of Ben, and they were pleading with him.

04:28If he shows up in this store, if he shows up to purchase a firearm, please do not sell

04:35this firearm to Ben.

04:39Ben Miller died by suicide.

04:43He used a gun that he bought at a local store.

04:47It's too often that the families and the loved ones who see the signs of crisis before anyone

04:54else are helpless to do anything about it.

04:58And red flag laws empower those families, along with law enforcement, to do something

05:05before it's too late.

05:09Empower their voices and allow a judge upholding due process under the law to determine if

05:18temporary limits should be placed to keep guns out of the hands of those who may be

05:23a danger to themselves or others.

05:27In the nutshell, this is what red flag laws do.

05:32Mary and her father weren't able to use that process because it was not instituted federally

05:38or within their state.

05:41They did not have a red flag law in place.

05:45This legislation would change that.

05:49Legislation I remind you that passed the House last Congress, the 117th Congress, with the

05:55support from Democrats and five Republicans.

06:01Legislation that was once held by Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal and Republican

06:07Lindsey Graham.

06:10Gun violence in this country is an epidemic.

06:13The Surgeon General just yesterday finally issued a report on the public health crisis

06:20that is gun violence in America and called for action.

06:25And so we once again are taking action.

06:29So I thank my colleagues that are here with me, my colleagues that are here in Congress

06:35for taking action to join me to announce this new strategy to move this legislation along,

06:43common sense legislation that saves lives.

06:47I implore our colleagues in this House to sign the discharge petition and make these

06:55life-saving tools available not only state by state, but everywhere in this country,

07:02no matter their zip code or their political party.

07:07Because we, and I say that we are the Gun Sense Democratic Caucus, are working to protect

07:15the American people.

07:17Even if the current majority doesn't stand up with the safety of their own constituents

07:23and their own families, we will.

07:27And now it is my distinct pleasure to bring up to you an incredible leader in our caucus

07:33and partner in this fight for gun violence, Assistant Democratic Leader Joe Neguse.

07:46Well first and foremost, good afternoon everyone and thank you to the Gun Violence Prevention

07:51Task Force leaders, to Chairman Thompson for his principled leadership of the task force

07:57for so many years, to Representative McBeth, my sister in service and served together on

08:03the Judiciary Committee, and she continues to inspire not just the members of our House

08:08Democratic Caucus, but really folks across the country in the way in which she's been

08:12able to convert personal anguish into action, and once again doing so here with respect

08:17to her leadership on the Red Flag Discharge Petition.

08:21Of course, my good colleague and friend, Representative Robin Kelly from the great state of Illinois,

08:26no one has worked harder, no one has worked harder in trying to curb and prevent and stop

08:33gun trafficking in our communities than Representative Kelly, best evidenced by the provision that

08:38she was able to get signed into law by President Biden just a few short years ago within the

08:43Bipartisan Safer Communities Act.

08:46There was a provision in that bill, of course, that Representative McBeth and Representative

08:50Carbajal worked vociferously on as well in relation to red flag laws, and we've heard

08:55a lot from some of our Republican colleagues about their purported support for these laws,

09:01which we know save lives.

09:03You heard from Chairman Thompson about the way in which these laws have saved lives in

09:07California.

09:08That's certainly true in my home state of Colorado that I'm privileged to represent

09:12here in the House.

09:14But in my view, talk is cheap.

09:17There's an opportunity for so-called moderate Republicans in the House Republican Conference

09:24to prove that they support these red flag laws.

09:29They can do so by simply walking onto the floor and signing the discharge petition that

09:34Representative McBeth and Chairman Thompson, Representative Kelly, and so many others are

09:39leading on.

09:40A simple way for them to show their constituents, the Congress, the country, that they in fact

09:47care about saving lives, because we know that red flag laws will in fact, do in fact, save

09:54lives.

09:56These laws have often been passed on a bipartisan basis in a variety of different states across

10:01the country, again, including Colorado.

10:04This should not and cannot be a partisan issue because fundamentally it is a public health

10:09issue, evidenced of course by the Surgeon General's announcement just yesterday regarding

10:14the epidemic and scourge of gun violence impacting communities from Atlanta to Chicago to California

10:20to Colorado.

10:21So inaction is not an option, which is why you see yet again House Democrats stepping

10:26up to the plate, making the case to our colleagues to join us in good faith to protect our communities,

10:32and we'll keep doing that each and every day.

10:40At this time, if there are any questions, we're more than happy to entertain them,

10:44but we are seriously continuing to work as much as we can in a bipartisan manner to make

10:49sure that the extremist protection order is not just state by state, as Assistant Leader

10:56Neguse did say, we were able to pass that in the bipartisan Safer Communities Law, but

11:02we want to save as many lives as we can, and it's important that every state, the citizens

11:08and community members of every state, law enforcement, have access to these life-saving

11:14tools.

11:15And so that is the reason why it's vitally important to make sure that this is a federal

11:21law, which is the most expansive way to keep our communities safe.

11:27Happy to say that the Office of Gun Violence Prevention has very much been accepting of

11:34this tool as a way to protect our communities, and this Democratic caucus is working in lockstep

11:42with the Office of Gun Violence Prevention to enhance the ability for states all across

11:47the nation to use these tools.

11:52Also in conjunction with the funding that has been appropriated for community violence

11:58intervention and the work that we've done, we hope to really save lives.

12:03Every community in this country deserves to be able to live without the unfettered access

12:12of guns by people who should not have them.

12:16And that is all that we intend to do each and every day that I do this work.

12:21I am reminded each and every day of my own son, the loss of my son to unnecessary gun

12:28violence.

12:29And we know that these laws work.

12:32We know that in the states that have enacted these laws, that the so-called justifiable

12:38homicide rates fall.

12:42In fact, we have Senator Scott, who was the governor of Florida.

12:48After the Parkland tragedy, he himself signed into law in the state of Florida red flag

12:53laws.

12:55And so we know that they work, and we want to continue to encourage our Republican colleagues

13:03to do what is right.

13:06There are constituents that they have in their own communities that every single day are

13:11dying by suicide.

13:13There are constituents every single day that are dying by domestic abuse because of firearms.

13:21There are constituents every single day that they have that are dying unnecessary deaths

13:27due to unnecessary gun violence.

13:30Question?

13:31This isn't the first discharge petition on this issue.

13:32Is there anything that you've learned from the previous discharge petitions as you talk

13:33to Republicans about signing on that you're applying to this particular petition on this

13:34red flag bill?

13:35You know, the question that we've heard before is that, you know, the person that you're

13:51talking about taking the guns from does not have due process, and that's absolutely not

13:55the case.

13:57There is due process built into this legislation.

14:01The problem has been is that in the past, and we've tried to explain to them, is that

14:06when a family finds an individual or a loved one in crisis, someone who is exhibiting signs

14:12of being in crisis, and they have access to firearms, law enforcement oftentimes has had

14:19their hands tied.

14:21These families call law enforcement, please take the guns from my loved one, they're going

14:27to cause harm to themselves or to others, and law enforcement's hands have been tied.

14:33And so what we've tried to explain to our Republican colleagues is that what we are

14:36doing with this legislation is we are giving law enforcement the tools that they need to

14:42be able to go to court with the families before the judge with due process enhanced in this

14:48legislation in the court proceedings for that individual to ascertain whether or not

14:53they actually pose a risk to themselves or to others.

14:58And there are two different types of extreme risk protection orders.

15:04There's an ex parte, there's also an order.

15:08So depending on what the judge deems necessary, the guns may be taken from an individual for

15:16a short period of time until it's ascertained whether or not they are at risk, or an order

15:22where those guns are taken from them for an extended period of time.

15:26But reassured, due process is implicit within this legislation because once it is deemed

15:33that that individual is no longer a threat to themselves or others, they will have to

15:38pass a background check again, but they will have those firearms returned to them.

15:46This does support Second Amendment rights.

15:48There is due process within this legislation because most certainly there are people in

15:54the country that are law-abiding gun owners, law-abiding gun enthusiasts, law-abiding hunters,

16:01and we're not infringing upon their rights.

16:04But we need to make sure that people who should not have access to guns or firearms

16:09when they are in crisis don't have access to them.

16:13Question?

16:14You're up against a majority who would be very reluctant to cooperate on this issue.

16:23What about this do you think will be different, and why are you hopeful that this will go through?

16:29Well, I am not under any illusion that they are going to cooperate, but we are appealing

16:37to the American people as well.

16:39We want the American public to know that despite our Republican colleagues' unwillingness

16:45to do what is right and to protect the safety of their communities, we're not going to stop.

16:52We're going to continue to build upon the work that we've done.

16:55There are advocates and gun safety organizations all around the country that stand with us,

17:00and we're doing tremendous work.

17:02When I came into gun safety advocacy 10 years ago, I can tell you the countless number of

17:08times I would go to testify in state legislatures or to even come here and testify before the

17:15United States Senate, and there would be no one there with me.

17:19There would be no one to really help encourage me or encourage common-sense gun safety legislation

17:25policy.

17:26But that's changed now.

17:29That has definitely changed now.

17:31There's not one mother, father, there's not one family in any community that I know of

17:38that is happy with the scourge of gun violence in our country.

17:42It is a public health crisis.

17:44It is an epidemic.

17:46And so we know and believe that we are doing the right thing.

17:50We are saving lives.

17:52And we'll continue to champion forward, but we will also continue to let the American

17:57public know that it is not us that holds up progress.

18:03And I'm hoping that our Republican colleagues will take heed to the voices of the people.

18:09Over 90% of the American public want common-sense gun safety legislation.

18:14They believe there must be a balance of rights, gun rights, protecting Second Amendment gun

18:22rights with a balance of common-sense measures to keep people safe.

18:27Let me just add, this is the process.

18:36We could avoid the discharge petition altogether if the Republican leadership would bring up

18:42before the body a vote on the bills that we on the task force and the American people

18:49know will make our communities safer and will save lives.

18:54But they've chosen not to.

18:56They've decided they're not going to bring any gun violence prevention legislation up.

19:02As a matter of fact, they've exacerbated things by removing the Veterans Administration from

19:09being able to ascertain information on veterans that are a danger to themselves or others.

19:17In legislation, in an amendment that they passed, they stopped that from being able

19:23to take place at a time when 20 veterans a day are taking their own lives.

19:30So this is what we have.

19:32This is the only tool that we have through the rules of the House and the legislative

19:38process to be able to free this measure up that we know saves lives for a vote from the

19:47House of Representatives to bring it into law.

19:51If I could just say one thing, that's where all of you come in.

19:54You know how hard we're working.

19:56This is my, I think, third gun violence press conference this month.

20:00You see familiar people and sometimes more legislators, sometimes less depending on committee.

20:07And that's how we need the media to come in to talk about what we're doing and talk about

20:11why we have not made more progress.

20:14Because as you've heard, what we're trying to do has saved lives, does save lives, and

20:19will save lives.

20:20Yes.

20:21Thank you.

20:22I'm wondering, are there any Republican colleagues of yours that have signaled to you that if

20:23this legislation was brought to the floor, they would be open to voting for it?

20:38Some voted for it last.

20:39Pardon?

20:40Some voted.

20:41Yeah.

20:42There were actually five Republicans that voted for it in the 117th Congress.

20:43I don't know what pressure has been placed on them, but I do know on private conversations,

20:49there are Republicans who said, yeah, I get it.

20:52You know, yes, there are suicides in my own community.

20:55Yes, I understand what's happening.

20:58But I think they're just afraid to stand on the other side of their Republican colleagues.

21:05But I think deep down, they know that they have constituents that are dying unnecessarily,

21:12as we all do in our constituencies.

21:16The bump stock ruling from the court is a prime example of that.

21:23If you recall, when bump stocks became widely known of, and that was after the Las Vegas

21:29mass shooting, then there was action on the floor.

21:33There was a Republican bill to ban bump stocks, and they couldn't get it through their leadership.

21:41So the former president did it through administrative regulations, and the court just ruled that

21:49that was not constitutional.

21:51So we need to codify that regulation.

21:56We need to put it in law to prohibit these bump stocks, a device that's added onto a

22:02semi-automatic firearm to make it function just like a fully automatic firearm.

22:09And there are colleagues who were pushing for the bill, Republican colleagues who were

22:14pushing for that bill, but are reluctant to push now through the discharge petition process

22:22because they think it is going against their leadership.

22:26It is their leadership that's holding this up.

22:29And I don't know if that's because they're beholden to outside organizations or they're

22:36beholden to the extreme right wing of their conference.

22:41Thank you.

22:42Thank you.

22:43Thank you.

22:44Thank you.

22:45Thank you.

JUST IN: House Democrats In Gun Violence Prevention Task Force Hold Press Briefing

Category

Transcript

Recommended