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Gun Violence

The stark fact is that Americans suffer more gun violence than people in any other developed country and our children are particularly at risk. Mass gun violence is preventable. Earl believes that there are common sense solutions that will reduce gun violence in America and save lives. We must address this issue for what it is: a public health crisis that threatens the well-being and peace of mind of communities across the country.

Earl proudly voted in favor of the Bipartisan Safe Communities Act in the 117th Congress. This was the first significant piece of gun control signed into law in nearly 30 years. It will enhance background checks for buyers under 21, support state-funding for crisis intervention and red flag laws, close the “boyfriend loophole” to prevent convicted domestic violence abusers from buying or possessing guns, and provide funding to improve community mental health services.

There is much more to do to end the catastrophic levels of gun violence communities across our nation face.

Earl's report, Enough Is Enough: A Comprehensive Plan to Improve Gun Safety lays out common sense steps that we can and must take to end gun violence. While there is no single solution, we can learn from other challenges that the United States has faced and overcome. Using the examples of automobile safety and tobacco use—two significant public safety issues where the government responded in ways that dramatically reduced injury and death—success came from defining the problem, identifying risk factors, testing prevention strategies, and ensuring widespread adoption of effective solutions. By using this same process, we can reduce gun-related deaths and injuries.

Earl supports the following specific actions:  

  • Close the "private sale loophole" and implement comprehensive and uniform background checks for any gun purchases.
  • Have law enforcement follow up with each person who fails the background check.
  • Ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines that are unsafe in any space.
  • Remove barriers to research gun violence.
  • Make sure that guns are tested and regulated like every other consumer product.
  • Empower health care professionals to discuss all matters that affect their patients' health including gun ownership.
  • Ensure better regulation of gun dealers and focus compliance on unscrupulous gun dealers.
  • Enforce existing gun laws by not letting the gun lobby undermine enforcement agencies.
  • Require that people purchasing a gun have liability insurance.
  • Improve mental health services to help people with mental health issues.
  • Provide more resources for first responders, schools and public facilities personnel to deal with active-shooter situations.