Pass Area Legislator Supports Gun Violence Prevention Bill


PASS AREA, CA — The first major federal gun safety legislation in decades headed to President Joe Biden’s desk on Friday with the support of the congressional lawmaker representing the Pass Area.

On Friday, Deputy Raul Ruiz (D-Coachella Valley) voted for the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (S. 2938). Friday the final vote tally in the US House of Representatives was 234 to 193with 14 Republicans voting with Democrats to pass the measure the president is expected to sign.

The United States Senate passed the bill in a night vote Thursday.

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The federal measure includes millions of dollars for mental health, including implementing “red flag laws” to temporarily confiscate guns, school safety measures, crisis intervention programs, and incentives for states to include juvenile records in the National Instant Verification System of Criminal record. It also makes changes to the process for people ages 18 to 21 who want to buy a firearm, and closes the “boyfriend loophole” by preventing people convicted of domestic abuse from owning a gun.

Although the bill does not ban any guns, it is considered the most important new federal legislation to address gun violence since the Timed out assault weapons ban.

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Ruiz (D-Coachella Valley), an emergency physician, praised S2938.

“Passage in the House of the bipartisan Safer Communities Act is a positive step in our work to address the gun violence epidemic,” Ruiz said. “With its provisions to help keep guns out of the hands of high-risk individuals, protect victims of domestic violence, and strengthen background checks for young gun buyers, this bipartisan legislation will help save lives. I voted.” to send this legislation to President Biden’s desk today, and I look forward to seeing it quickly signed into law. As a physician, I will continue to fight for a public health approach to the gun violence epidemic that reduces gun violence deaths and prioritizes the safety of our children. and communities.”

Pastor Brian E. Hawkins, a Republican who is also a member of the San Jacinto City Council, will face Ruiz in the November General Election. He expressed reservations Friday about S. 2938.

In an emailed statement, Hawkins said federal lawmakers passed the bill in response to the shooting in Uvalde, Texas, but believes the legislation “doesn’t really address the root problems.”

“My heart and condolences to the families and members of the community,” Hawkins said of the Uvalde shooting. “I am the father of a fourth grade daughter and this event was senseless, tragic and painful.”

But Hawkins said the bill’s name was “a red flag” for him, comparing the title to state legislation that has been under the microscope since its inception: In 2014, California state lawmakers passed a bill similarly titled bill called the Safe Schools and Neighborhoods Act. , also know as Prop 47.

“Although the legislation has similar titles, the details are drastically different. The problem I see with the Safer Communities Act that reminds me of [the] The Safe Schools and Neighborhoods Act is that it doesn’t really address the root problems,” Hawkins said.

He believes Prop 47 caused “an increase in crime” as a result of reclassifying some felonies to misdemeanors, resulting in lighter sentences for certain convictions.

“Criminals are now taking bolder risks, such as smash and grab and daily heists,” he said in his email. “Los Angeles has become a nightmare for tourists with homelessness and raw crime. I think we need to do a better job of funding mental health. We don’t have to use mass shootings and gun control rhetoric to get attention Prevention should start at the elementary through high school level We should fund more programs that focus on critical thinking and career technical education Mental health is real and gun violence is not the root cause, it is the result end of overlooked warning signs.”

In southwestern Riverside County, Reps. Ken Calvert (R-Crown) Y Darrell Issa (R-Temecula) voted against the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act.

Issa, whose district includes part of Temecula as well as a swath of northern San Diego County, made no public statement about her vote Friday, but did comment on the US Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe. v. Wade.

“Today is a great day for the gift of life,” Issa tweeted on Friday.

On Wednesday, Issa tweeted that he would not vote for S2938.

“I have seen enough. The Senate gun control bill is totally unacceptable. I will vote absolutely no,” she said.

In a June 8 statement criticizing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s position on gun safety, Calvert said her colleague was choosing politics over work. with the senators who supported the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. Unlike Calvert, Pelosi voted for the bill on Friday.

“I am disappointed that Speaker Pelosi has chosen a political approach in response to our recent tragedies instead of working together to find solutions as a bipartisan group of senators is attempting,” Calvert said in his June 8 statement. “Violent criminals and people with serious mental illness are the two groups responsible for the majority of our gun violence. I support efforts to keep guns out of their hands. I do not support taking away Second Amendment rights from gun owners.” This is the careful balance we must strike, and it requires serious discussions, not partisan stunts designed to divide Americans.

“I have worked to keep our communities safe by supporting a ban on Accelerator Triggers, which turn firearms into automatic weapons,” Calvert’s statement continued. “I also strongly support addressing the mental health crisis in America that fuels these senseless acts of violence, and I believe we must do more to harden our schools against these threats.”

Will Rollins, a Democrat who will face Calvert in the November General Electionhe was critical of his opponent’s stance.

“Ken Calvert has received more money from the NRA than almost any other congressman in California,” Rollins said Friday in an emailed statement. “So while it’s horrible that he’s willing to put the gun lobby before protecting children from mass shootings, he’s not surprising: he needs the NRA’s money to survive.

“This vote will come back to haunt you in November, because almost all of us in Riverside County, including gun owners, don’t believe that someone who threatens to shoot up a school should be able to walk into a gun store the next day and buy an AR-15,” Rollins continued. “Red flag laws and violent background checks have bipartisan support; it’s too bad Calvert doesn’t have the backbone of fellow Republicans like Liz Cheney.”

Note: Patch reached out to Democrat Stephen Houlahan, who will face Rep. Issa in the November election, but did not receive an immediate response.


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