Democratic Gun Violence Prevention Task Force releases proposals

Daily Kos Staff

Thursday February 07, 2013 · 2:39 PM PST

2013/02/07 · 14:39

At a press conference Thursday in Leesburg, Virginia, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and other Democrats, including Rep. Mike Thompson of California, the chairman of the House Democratic Caucus's Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, announced the group's 15 proposals for reducing gun violence. There were no surprises. The task force has been developing the proposals since shortly after the 12/14 slaughter of 26 people at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut.

Not all its recommendations are focused on restricting firearms. One of them urges Congress to "fund scientific research on the relationship between popular culture and gun violence, while ensuring that parents have access to the information they need to make informed decisions about what their families watch, listen to, and play."

One of the task force members, Rep. Ed Perlmutter of Colorado, said:

I believe in and value the Second Amendment. It is a part of our American history and way of life. But, after so many gun violence tragedies, we in Congress have an obligation to make gun violence less easy, less frequent, and less deadly. I know from listening to my constituents there are sensible solutions most Americans support such as the ones outlined by our Task Force. These measures should be brought to a vote in Congress with bipartisan support. We cannot wait another day, week or month to keep our kids and communities safe.

Some senators and representatives have already introduced legislation, including a renewed version of the 1994 assault weapons that expired in 2004, a high-capacity magazine ban and the first-ever law that would outlaw and heavily penalize gun trafficking to individuals who are barred from owning firearms. Other legislation can be expected.

Below the fold is a condensed version of the task force's proposals that you can read in full here.

• Reinstate and strengthen a prospective federal ban on assault weapons.

• Reinstate a prospective federal ban on assault magazines.

• Require a background check for every gun sale, while respecting reasonable exceptions for cases such as gifts between family members and temporary loans for sporting purposes. "[The current except for private sales is a] loophole allows felons, domestic abusers, and those prohibited because of mental illness to easily bypass the criminal background check system and buy firearms at gun shows, through private sellers, over the internet or out of the trunks of cars."

• Strengthen the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) database. "Immediate action is needed to ensure the information in the NICS database is up to date."

• Prosecute those prohibited buyers who attempt to purchase firearms and others who violate federal firearm laws.

• Pass legislation aimed specifically at cracking down on illegal gun trafficking and straw-purchasing.

• Restore funding for public safety and law enforcement initiatives aimed at reducing gun violence. "Congress should fund law enforcement’s efforts to reduce gun violence, while supporting federal research into causes of gun violence. Put simply, there is no reason the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) or the National Institute of Health (NIH) should be inhibited from researching the causes of gun violence. And there is no reason for the restrictions federal law places on our law enforcement officers’ ability to track and combat the spread of illegal guns."

• Support initiatives that prevent problems before they start. "Local communities should have assistance in applying evidence-based prevention and early intervention strategies that are designed to prevent the problems that lead to gun violence before those problems start."

• Close the holes in our mental-health system and make sure that care is available for those who need it.

• Help our communities get unwanted and illegal guns out of the hands of those who don’t want them or shouldn’t have them.

• Support responsible gun ownership. "Congress should support safety training, research aimed at developing new gun safety technologies and the safe storage of firearms. Take steps to enhance school safety. Congress must help all schools implement evidence-based strategies that support safe learning environments tailored to the unique needs of students and local communities. And Congress must work with all schools to develop emergency response plans."

• Address our culture’s glorification of violence seen and heard though our movie screens, television shows, music and video games.

Members besides Thompson who served on the task force: Rep. Ron Barber of Arizona; Rep. Carolyn McCarthy of New York; Rep. Ed Perlmutter of Colorado; Rep. Jackie Speier of California; Rep. John D. Dingell of Michigan; Bill Enyart of Illinois; Elizabeth Esty of Connecticut; Chaka Fattah of Pennsylvania; Grace Napolitano of California; David Price of North Carolina; Bobby Scott of Virginia; and Bennie Thompson of Mississippi.

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