Statement of Gloria Pan, Senior Vice President for Gun Control at MomsRising, the online and on-the-ground organization of more than one million mothers and their families, on the actions to reduce gun violence and save lives that President Biden and Vice President Harris announced yesterday:
“The scourge in gun violence that is plaguing our country causes fear, trauma, and harm every single day to moms and families, to communities and businesses, and to our entire country. America’s moms applaud the steadfast commitment to ending our national gun violence crisis that President Biden and Vice President Harris have demonstrated, and for building on that proud record yesterday by directing federal agencies to address emerging firearm threats and improve school-based active shooter drills. It is because of their leadership and commitment that, in 2023, the United States experienced the single largest homicide rate drop in recent history.
“But we need to do much more. Firearms remain the leading cause of child death in our nation and those deaths are preventable. And, improved or not, active shooter drills will continue to add trauma to our children’s lives at this time when we are grappling with a youth mental health crisis. Our gun violence deaths and injuries are greater than those of all comparable high-income nations combined. So, moms join the Biden/Harris administration in calling on Congress to act.
“We urgently need comprehensive gun policy reform! Congress must recognize how our freedoms are being lost to gun violence and begin defending those other freedoms. That means rejecting the guns rights absolutism that has obstructed any and all gun policy reform, including banning assault weapons, high capacity magazines, and bump stocks; adopting safe storage laws; requiring universal background checks; and repealing the immunity from liability that gun manufacturers have enjoyed for too long. Vice President Harris was correct that the right to be safe is a civil right and that we all have the right to live, work, worship and learn without fear of gun violence. It’s well past time for change.”