CONGRESSMAN JOE MORELLE TAKES ACTION TO ADDRESS GUN VIOLENCE
Morelle votes to enact package of legislation including measures to strengthen red flag laws and raise the age to purchase semiautomatic weapons
Morelle continues to call for the banning of military-style assault weapons and for universal background checks on the sale of all guns
(Washington, D.C.) — Today, Congressman Joe Morelle voted to pass a package of gun reform legislation that takes critical steps to keep dangerous weapons out of the wrong hands. This action comes on the heels of mass shootings in Buffalo, Uvalde, and across the country that have stolen dozens of innocent lives, including at least 19 children.
“There have been more than 200 mass shootings already in the year 2022—that’s more shootings than there have been days of the year. Firearm deaths are now the leading cause of death for children in America,” said Congressman Joe Morelle. “We cannot continue to stand idly by as gun violence ravages our communities. That’s why today, we’re taking meaningful steps to save innocent lives by strengthening red flag laws, raising the age for semiautomatic gun purchases, banning bump stocks and high-capacity magazines, cracking down on gun trafficking, and promoting safe storage of firearms.”
Included in this package are H.R. 2377, the Federal Extreme Risk Protection Order Actand H.R. 7910, the Protecting Our Kids Act, both of which Rep. Morelle cosponsors. The Federal Extreme Risk Protection Order Act would establish nationwide access to extreme risk protection orders through the federal court system and support, improve and expand the implementation of similar existing state laws.
The Protecting Our Kids Act would:
- Raise the lawful age to purchase certain semiautomatic rifles from 18 to 21 years old.
- Establish a new federal offense for the import, sale, manufacture, transfer, or possession of a large capacity magazine, with exceptions for certain law enforcement uses.
- Create new federal offenses for gun trafficking and straw purchasers.
- Build on Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearm’s (ATF) regulatory bump stock ban by listing bump stocks under the National Firearms Act and statutorily banning the manufacture, sale, or possession of bump stocks for civilian use.
These measures build on action the House of Representatives has already taken to ban assault weapons and enact universal background checks on the sale of all firearms.
“These are vital steps forward in the fight to address gun violence, but it doesn’t stop here,” continued Rep. Morelle. “I’ll continue pushing to ban assault weapons and combat gun trafficking so we can put a stop to the devastating cycle of violence—because the absolute worst thing we can do is nothing at all.”
For more information, read the full text of the Federal Extreme Risk Protection Order Act here and the full text of the Protecting Our Kids Act here.