Reforming America’s Gun Laws

Every victim of gun violence is another reminder of the nightmare we have made for ourselves. Americans shouldn’t have to live in fear.

No country in the world faces the unending nightmare of gun violence that America does. While Republicans act in bad faith and try to deflect needed action with phony arguments that mental health is the cause of this neverending pattern of violence, Jerry knows that Americans aren’t exponentially more susceptible to mental illness than others around the rest of the world. The root of the problem, of course, is the widespread availability of firearms and the outsized, constrictive influence that the NRA and the gun lobby hold. With children being slain in schools and the proliferation of guns allowing for racist hate to travel seamlessly from the darkest corners of the Internet to our country’s streets–like the recent, tragic massacre in Buffalo–calls to delay action are not just desperately misguided, they stink of complicity.

As Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, Jerry has turned anguish into action. In his first term as Chair, Jerry passed through the House H.R. 8, a historic bill that would close loopholes and expand the background check process. This year, Jerry introduced the Protecting Our Kids Act, one of the most all-encompassing, sweeping gun reform packages ever passed by the House. As one of the House’s most prominent leaders in the fight to reform our nation’s gun laws, Jerry was trusted to lead the Congressional debate on the Safer Communities Act, which would restrict violent abusers from accessing guns, deliver grants to states so that they could establish crucial red flag laws, and stem the flow of trafficked guns to New York. When President Biden signed that bill into law, it marked the most significant action in decades to address gun violence.

Ending the endless wave of gun violence is one of Jerry’s very top priorities. He knows the more guns you get out of dangerous hands, the safer our schools, streets, and subways become. The proud recipient of an F rating from the NRA, Jerry won’t stop fighting until Americans can feel safe from the threat of gun violence.