MENENDEZ STATEMENT ON SENATE PASSAGE OF THE BIPARTISAN SAFER COMMUNITIES ACT

Press Release

U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) issued the following statement after the Senate passed the Safer Communities Act with a 65-33 vote. The legislation, which is now headed to the House of Representatives, is the most significant gun safety legislation passed by Congress in decades:

"Today's passage of bipartisan, commonsense gun safety legislation is a hopeful sign that Democrats and Republicans can still come together and enact measures that prioritize the safety of our communities. It sends a clear message to all Americans that we will not stand by as our children and elders are taken from us by gun violence that has become all-too-common in schools, shopping centers, houses of worship, and workplaces all across our nation.

"While this legislation does not represent everything I have been fighting for in the Senate -- such as banning assault weapons, outlawing high-capacity magazines, closing the ghost gun loophole, and implementing universal background checks -- it is a critical first step that I was proud to support. Make no mistake, every single mass shooting in America is the result of a policy failure. Measures that prevent just one more American from needlessly dying at the hands of a firearm are worth it.

"That said, today's vote should not and will not be the end of our efforts to disarm hate and end gun violence. Today, the Supreme Court issued an egregious decision that could upend the commonsense gun laws that states have enacted to protect their own citizens. This decision creates even more urgency for Congress to act beyond today. As we finally pass sensible gun reform measures for the first time in nearly 30 years, we must recommit ourselves to the many commonsense measures overwhelmingly supported by the American people to end to the epidemic of gun violence that is destroying lives, families, and communities."

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