Rep. Veasey Votes for Historic Gun Safety Package

Press Release

Last week, Rep. Marc Veasey voted for bipartisan legislation that takes historic steps to combat gun violence and protect Texas communities. The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act will help save lives by keeping weapons out of dangerous hands, strengthening mental health services and bolstering school safety. The first major gun violence prevention legislation passed by Congress in nearly three decades, and has now been signed into law by President Biden.

"After nearly 30 years of inaction, Congress listened to the American people and passed common-sense gun violence prevention legislation. It's one step that will save lives -- and I hope not the last step that we take to provide additional protections and tools that the majority of Americas support in order to subvert America's gun violence epidemic," said Congressman Marc Veasey (TX-33). "Nothing Congress does will ever heal the wounds and trauma inflicted on the families and friends of gun violence victims. But this is a step in the right direction to make our communities and schools safer. Make no mistake -- much more needs to be done because we should no longer accept an America where a child doesn't return home from school because of gun violence."

Gun violence in America is responsible for more than 45,000 deaths per year, including more than 24,000 in Texas since 2014. Every day, 30 Americans are murdered with a gun -- a number that rises to more than 100 when counting suicides and accidental shootings. Communities across the nation have been torn apart by nearly 300 mass shootings since 2009 -- attacks that have killed more than 1,500 people and wounded 1,000 more.

The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act will implement common-sense, bipartisan measures to protect America's children, keep our communities safe and curb gun violence across our country, including:

Support for State Crisis Intervention Orders: Incentivizing states to implement extreme risk protection order laws to keep weapons out of the hands of individuals who pose a danger to themselves or others.
Protections for Victims of Domestic Violence: Closing the "Boyfriend Loophole" by adding convicted abusers to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.
Cracking Down on Gun Trafficking and Straw Purchases: Preventing dangerous individuals from illegally evading background checks by establishing new federal criminal offenses that cover straw purchasing and trafficking.
Enhanced Background Checks for Buyers Under 21: Requiring longer, enhanced background checks of up to ten days for gun buyers under 21 years of age.
Anti-Violence Community Initiatives: Providing $250 million in funding for community-based violence prevention initiatives.
Child and Family Mental Health Services: Improving access to mental health services for children, youth and families through Medicaid, CHIP and other programs.
Investments in School Safety: Expanding mental health and supportive services in schools, including early identification and intervention programs.

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