Gun Violence Prevention

Throughout his career, Congressman DeSaulnier has argued for, and supported, common sense gun violence prevention reforms, including background checks and limiting the sale of high ammunition magazines. As a member of the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, Congressman DeSaulnier is working with like-minded colleagues to pass reasonable measures that gun safety advocates, as well as gun owners, should be able to support. Recent events, including the shootings in Florida, Connecticut, Arizona, Wisconsin, and Colorado, and the more than 30 gun-related deaths that occur every day in the United States, have led many Americans across our country to direct their attention to this important issue, and they are demanding action. Commonsense reforms led by Congressman DeSaulnier would make our families, schools, and communities safer while protecting Second Amendment rights.

Working for You

Recently, there have been too many reports of crimes being committed with guns stolen from federal law enforcement officers. Congressman DeSaulnier introduced the Federal Law Enforcement and Public Protection Act (H.R. 6024), which bolsters requirements for officers to safely store and lock their weapons and requires federal law enforcement agencies to transparently report to appropriate agencies when their guns are lost or stolen.

Congressman DeSaulnier agrees with 90% of Americans that background checks are a critical component of our efforts to curb gun violence. Mark is a sponsor of the bipartisan Public Safety and Second Amendment Rights Protection Act (H.R. 1217), which would close loopholes that exist in our current background check system.

Mark has a long history of working to bring innovative solutions to our toughest problems, and knows firsthand the profound impact gun violence can have on families. He introduced the Modernizing Firearm Technology Act (H.R. 6080), which promotes the creation of smart gun technology in an effort to decrease the number of tragic accidental shootings and suicides.

While Congressman DeSaulnier does not contest citizens’ rights to own a gun, many guns available to consumers are unnecessarily powerful for hunting, recreational shooting, or self-protection. Mark is a sponsor of bills that would ban assault weapons and limit the sale of high-capacity ammunition, including the Imported Assault Weapons Ban Act (H.R. 4748) and the Large Capacity Ammunition Feeding Device Act (H.R. 752) .

Gun violence is a public health issue. It causes physical and emotional injuries and costs our nation $235 billion a year. However, due to strong-arming by the gun lobby, there currently exists a prohibition on research to better understand the pervasive problem of gun violence as a public health concern. Congressman DeSaulnier supports lifting that prohibition because the more information we have, the better informed we can be about how to best protect our communities.