Meng marks six-month anniversary of Newtown shooting

U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D-Queens) last Friday marked the six-month anniversary of the Newtown massacre by calling on Congress to pass additional gun-safety laws. In particular, Meng, a member of the House Democratic Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, urged her colleagues in the House and Senate to adopt universal background checks and the assault-weapons ban.

This past April, the Senate defeated a bipartisan bill to expand background checks, and legislation to ban assault weapons has not been brought-up for a vote.

“Six months after the horrific tragedy in Newtown, it is hard to believe that we cannot come together to pass reasonable gun-safety measures,” said Meng. “Senseless gun violence continues to shatter lives all across the country, and those who continue block common-sense legislation should be ashamed of themselves for standing in the way of preventing future tragedies. How much longer will it take until these people get the message? How much longer until they understand that the majority of Americans support background checks? How many more innocent people have to die or be wounded until they understand the seriousness of this problem?”

“But we will not quit,” added Meng. “This fight is far from over, and we will continue to do all we can to keep up the pressure.”

“As we mark the six-month anniversary of Newtown, we continue to send our thoughts and prayers to the families of the victims, and to all who have been impacted by this terrible tragedy,” said Meng.

The House Democratic Gun Violence Prevention Task Force is comprised of lawmakers tasked with examining steps that Congress can take to reduce and prevent gun violence. It was established by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) in the wake of Newtown shooting.

On her second day as a new member of Congress this past January, Meng announced legislation she is sponsoring that would close the “fire-sale loophole,” which permits gun dealers with revoked licenses to transfer their weapons to their private collections, then sell the firearms in inventory clearance sales without background checks. The measure is pending before the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security and Investigations, the panel with jurisdiction over the issue. Meng is also cosponsoring several other gun-safety bills.

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