Advocacy Alert: Urge Your Legislators to Support Commonsense Firearms Violence Legislation
The U.S. Senate and House of Representatives Expected to Vote Soon on Bipartisan Legislation to Address Firearms Violence
Time is of the essence to contact your federal legislators to urge support and rapid passage of this reasonable and commonsense legislation
This week, the Senate will vote on the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (S. 2938), legislation that includes a number of provisions to mitigate the public health crisis of firearms violence. This bipartisan agreement, carefully negotiated over the last several weeks by a working group of 20 Democrat and Republican Senators, will improve the background check process for firearms purchases, help protect victims of domestic abuse and violence, assist states in implementing crisis intervention orders (aka “red flag” laws), provide greater enforcement of federal firearms licensing requirements, and crack down on illegal straw purchases and firearms trafficking, among other provisions. Additionally, it provides significant investments to improve mental health and school safety resources for our communities, including crisis and trauma intervention and recovery.
This bill is an important step – the most substantial in nearly three decades – to address this critical public health crisis. There is no cure-all for firearms violence and this legislation alone will not solve the issue of firearms violence and injury in our country; however, we believe these commonsense and bipartisan solutions will save lives and help us begin to restore the sense of safety that has been shattered for far too many in our country.
ACEP recognizes that you and your colleagues all over the U.S. witness firsthand the impact of firearms violence. For decades, ACEP has sought to address this public health issue in particular by supporting both public and private efforts to fund high-quality firearms injury prevention research, and by supporting commonsense, evidence-based policy solutions. This negotiated agreement is an important step that contains provisions that fall within ACEP’s existing firearm and injury prevention policy. Click here to read more about ACEP’s efforts on Firearm Injury Prevention.
Please act now to urge your Senators and Representatives to support this reasonable and commonsense legislation and push for its swift enactment into law.