Amid Growing List of Mass Shootings, Democrats Advocate for Gun Safety
In a proclamation released Friday, Governor Roy Cooper marked June 3 as Gun Violence Awareness Day in an effort to raise awareness and remember the lives of those lost to gun violence.
With 251 mass shootings in just the sixth month of 2022, communities, advocates, and Democrats across the country are demanding gun safety laws to prevent further horrific tragedies.
- In North Carolina, Governor Cooper has pushed for enhanced community and school safety statewide within his proposed budget, and supports stronger background checks, red flag laws, banning assault weapons, and community violence interventions.
- On the national level, the U.S. House Judiciary Committee has pushed a Democrat-drafted gun safety package made up of eight bills, known as the Protecting Our Kids Act.
- The package would raise the age of purchasing semiautomatic rifles from 18 to 21, incentivize safe firearm storage in a home with children, require all firearms to be traceable, and outlaws the sale of magazines holding more than 10 rounds of ammunition, among other measures.
Despite Americans overwhelmingly supporting gun control laws and agreeing that drastic changes in legislation must be made to stop further school shootings, Republicans both in-state and nationally have dragged their feet on gun safety laws.
With a majority of Republicans in opposition of proposed safety laws, it’s very clear that Republicans are in favor of protecting wealthy gun lobbyists over the needs of their constituents. Yet again, we are witnessing the stark divide of a party that supports freedom, the protection of our children and the necessary access to the ballot box versus a party that wants to criminalize women, censor educators, attack students and our freedoms.
