As a mom and pediatrician, I know how important it is to take action on common sense gun safety. Like many parents, I trust that my son will be safe when I send him to school, but we know that nowhere is really safe in a country that allows guns to get into the hands of people who would do others harm.
I will always support the second amendment, and the right of responsible gun owners to hunt, target shoot, or own guns for protection. We must implement common sense measures to reduce gun violence and save lives while respecting those rights.
That’s exactly what we did earlier this year when both Republicans and Democrats came together in the wake of the tragic Uvalde shooting to pass the bipartisan Safer Communities Act which implemented common sense gun safety measures that nearly all Americans agree on. This process can be a model for making progress that can save lives without infringing on second amendment rights.
- I cosponsored universal, comprehensive background check legislation in Congress because guns should never be allowed in the hands of someone with a history of domestic violence, a violent criminal record, convicted stalkers, or those with severe mental illness.
- I co-sponsored the Violence Against Women Act reauthorization that worked to keep guns out of the hands of those convicted of domestic violence offenses.
- I support repealing the Dickey Amendment, so the Centers for Disease Control can research gun violence as a public health crisis. As a scientist and physician, I know that we base all other health challenges, from highway safety to cancer, on data. But the federal government is not allowed to investigate gun violence in the same way, which must be reversed.
- I co-sponsored the Prevent Family Fire Act of 2019 because weapons of war do not belong on our streets and no gun belongs in the hands of an unsupervised child.
