“For the first time in three decades, Congress is poised to pass gun legislation that will make Americans safer”
Hickenlooper also highlights need for data on gun safety
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper today spoke on the Senate floor in support of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, legislation that will help address gun violence in the United States. Hickenlooper voted to advance the bill earlier this week and to invoke cloture today. It’s expected to pass this week. He also spoke about the need for objective data to measure the success of these proposals.
For full video of his remarks, click HERE. Highlights are available below:
“Guns are a tradition in the West, and Colorado is no exception. We became the first purple state to successfully pass gun safety laws. Coloradans – including the vast majority of gun owners – wanted to get something done. That led to universal background checks and a ban on high-capacity magazines. Not everything that we wanted, but steps that made a real difference. We didn’t want dangerous people to have guns…
“Guns can be a divisive issue to say the least, but we don’t accept that there’s no room to get things done. The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act proves that. For the first time in three decades, Congress is poised to pass gun legislation that will make Americans safer. And it’s based on the very simple principle: we all agree we should keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people.
“The bill will give states the resources to implement red-flag laws that prevent people who are a danger to themselves or others from buying or having guns. It will finally close the boyfriend-loophole that allows convicted domestic abusers to get firearms. It will strengthen background checks for 18 to 21 year olds, and take mental health into account. And it will crack down on straw man purchases that allow criminals to dodge background checks altogether. Now these are commonsense proposals and I’m heartened to see that they are going to pass with bipartisan support.”
In addition to supporting the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, Hickenlooper is also a co-sponsor of the Background Check Expansion Act and the Assault Weapons Ban of 2021.
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