More Security for Presidential Candidates is Needed; So Are Stiffer Gun Regs
Opinion Advocates for ideas and draws conclusions based on the author/producer’s interpretation of facts and data.
Mike Lawler spoke on the House floor to promote more funding for the Secret Service in order to better protect the leading candidates for president. Congress quickly and unanimously passed The Enhanced Presidential Security Act.
I am not minimizing the importance of high-level security for presidential candidates, but tragically the real and ignored issue is our gun violence epidemic.
In contrast to the speed of the Secret Service bill, it took Congress a heartbreaking 30 years to pass any gun safety legislation!
Mondaire Jones helped the Democratic majority in the House to finally pass the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act in 2022.
That was a very long overdue first step to address the gun violence epidemic. However, Democrats realize Congress needs to continue to pass more legislation using a multifaceted approach to chip away at the horrific statistics.
Guns are the leading cause of death in children and teens. Every day, 64 Americans die by firearm suicide – one person every 22 minutes.
Obviously, personal safety is not a priority for the Republican Party. Mike Lawler did not co-sponsor the Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2023. Neither did he co-sponsor the Assault Weapons Ban of 2023 or a bill addressing firearms licensing requirements or another bill requiring safe storage. Democrats overwhelmingly support these bills, but unsurprisingly in this majority Republican House, these bills have no chance of passing. Historically, efforts to strengthen U.S. gun safety laws have been blocked by the Republican Party.
Additionally, Lawler and his fellow Republicans voted on a resolution to disapprove the ATF rule, which made it illegal to purchase a pistol brace, which converts a pistol into a rifle.
A 2025 Appropriations Bill, which Mike Lawler and the Republicans passed, include other poison pills. The spending bill slashes nearly $50 million from the ATF’s budget, undermining law enforcement when it comes to protecting the public from gun violence and solving gun crimes. These cuts hurt the ATF’s state and local law enforcement partners, who rely on them to help keep their communities safe.
Furthermore, a rider in the bill undermines the VA from continuing its decades-long practice of reporting veterans who are deemed mentally incompetent due to injury or disease, to the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System. These reports prevent mentally unstable veterans from purchasing and possessing firearms.
More than 6,500 veterans die by suicide each year.
The only path forward in continuing to mitigate the gun violence epidemic is voting for Mondaire Jones and all Democrats in November.
Thank you for your consideration.
Doug Bass
Peekskill
Examiner Media – Keeping you informed with professionally-reported local news, features, and sports coverage.