Blumenthal Statement On The President's Proposals To Reduce Gun Violence

(Washington, DC) – Today, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) issued the following statement in response to President Obama's announcement of a package of proposals to reduce gun violence: 

This profoundly historic initiative puts the full moral and political weight of the presidency behind strong and specific measures to reduce gun violence. It is presidential leadership at its best and boldest. It presents an action agenda –  commonsense steps from law enforcement and public health professionals toward consensus and common ground that the American people support. It is a blueprint to seize this moment – keeping faith with victims of horrific recent tragedies – and sustain the momentum.
 
I support the Administration’s specific call for universal criminal background checks, bans on deadly assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, national criminal database improvements, increases in mental health funding, federal gun violence research, and anti-trafficking proposals. I will continue to fight for mandatory background checks on ammunition purchases, which are the black hole of gun violence prevention.
 
I look forward to working shoulder to shoulder with a broad coalition – comprising the Newtown community, law enforcement professionals, and countless people in Connecticut and across the country who have said to me again and again with deep grief and outrage: We have to do something.