Gun Violence Prevention
There is a gun violence epidemic in our country. Here in Connecticut, we know the pain all too well: the horrific murder of twenty school children and six faculty members at Sandy Hook Elementary school is seared into our memories. Across the country, we have mourned the loss of tens-of-thousands of adults and children to gun violence on our streets. Enough is enough. While Congress passed the first gun reform legislation in decades, the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act in response to the Uvalde school shooting,
Rep. Larson believes more must be done to enact stronger, comprehensive, and commonsense gun violence prevention measures.
Historic Sit-In to Demand Action
On June 22, 2016, after the tragic shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Florida, Rep. Larson joined with his late friend, Congressman John Lewis, to organize a historic and unprecedented Democratic sit-in on the House Floor. Members refused to leave the chamber, effectively blocking the House from conducting any legislative business until Republican Leadership allowed votes on new gun control measures. Together, they brought the House to a halt for 26 hours to demand action on gun violence, even after then-Speaker Paul Ryan ordered the cameras be cut.
As a result, the GOP Leadership ordered House to adjourn until July 5th, cutting the cameras on the House floor and leaving Democratic members in the House Chamber broadcasting through their individual social media accounts. Democratic Members remained on the House Floor through the night and eventually concluded the sit-in the next day on June 23rd. The landmark protest received unprecedented national coverage and helped Democrats build momentum for future gun violence prevention efforts.
Finding New Solutions
After a string of mass shootings in 2022, Rep. Larson spoke with experts who identified a key vulnerability with the potential to facilitate mass shootings: buy now pay late financing. With credit already being used to facilitate shootings, this emerging industry has the potential to allow even easier access to individuals seeking to acquire weapons with no intention of paying back.
Rep. Larson led a letter to a provider of instant financing for firearm purchases, asking them provide information on any safeguards the company has to ensure financing is not used to facilitate criminal activity or trafficked. Later, in 2023, Rep. Larson introduced a bill to ban the use of “Buy Now, Pay Later” instant financing to purchase assault weapons and the ghost gun kits used to build them.
Supporting Work on the Ground
While continuing to push for national solutions, Rep. Larson also knows that it’s vital to support local, on the ground anti-violence work. He is proud to support and uplift local organizations, including Mothers United Against Violence, Hartford Communities That Care, and other local organizations on the front-line that provide services to our communities in the midst of these tragedies and who work tirelessly to try to prevent them.
Since 2021, Rep. Larson has directly secured Mothers United Against Violence $1.3 million in direct funding to support their Victim Impact Project, which supports local victims of violent crimes in the greater Hartford area. Rep. Larson has walked with the group through the North End of Hartford to hear from community members about how violence has impacted their community. In that time, Rep. Larson has also secured Hartford Communities That Care $2.8 million in direct funding for their programs that respond to shootings and work to break the cycle of violence.
Legislative Actions:
Rep. Larson believes that we can and must do more to fight gun violence and save lives across our country. As a champion for gun violence prevention in Congress, he helped lead the charge to pass the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act into law. This bill:
Supports State Crisis Intervention Centers – Creates a $750 million funding pot for states to create and administer red flag laws.
Closes the Boyfriend Loophole – Adds convicted domestic violence abusers who were not married, but in dating relationships to the NICS system.
Expands the Definition of Federally Licensed Firearms Dealer – Expands the list of people who must register with the federal government, conduct background checks, and keep appropriate records for gun sales.
Enhances Background Checks for Purchasers Under 21 – Requires an investigative period to review juvenile and mental health records for buyers under 21.
Enhances Penalties for Straw Purchasers and Traffickers – Creates federal offenses for straw purchasing and gun trafficking.
Increases Funding for Mental Health Services – Supports expansion of the community behavioral health center model, improves access to mental health services for children, youth and families using Medicaid and CHIP, increases access to telehealth mental health services, and provides funding for major investments in mental health at the Department of Health and Human Services
Increases Funding for School Safety – Invests in mental health and supportive services in schools, improvements to school-wide learning conditions, and school safety.
He also supports numerous gun violence prevention measures including the:
Assault Weapons Ban – Bans military-style assault weapons.
Protecting Our Kids Act – Raises the age to purchase rifles to 21, bans high-capacity magazines, establishes new offenses for gun trafficking and straw purchasing, establishes voluntary best practices for safe firearm storage, regulates the storage of firearms on residential premises to prevent children from accessing weapons, codifies the ATF’s bump stock ban, and codifies the ATF’s ghost gun ban.
Bipartisan Background Checks Act – Establishes universal background checks for firearms transfers.
Enhanced Background Checks Act – Closes the Charleston loophole by extending the period of time the FBI has to conduct a background check for a firearms transfer.
Federal Extreme Risk Protection Order Act – Creates a federal red-flag system.
Break the Cycle of Violence Act – Establishes federal grants to support violence intervention initiatives.
Ethan’s Law – Rep. DeLauro’s bill requires safe storage of firearms so children cannot access them.
The Disarm Hate Act – Bans individuals who have been convicted of hate crimes or received a sentencing enhancement for hate crimes from purchasing or receiving firearms.
Rep. Larson stands with Team 26 to demand Congressional action on gun violence prevention.
Rep. Larson is currently a member of the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, chaired by Rep. Mike Thompson (D-CA) in the U.S. House of Representatives.
More on Gun Violence Prevention
Washington, D.C. – Today, Rep. John B. Larson (CT-01) released the following statement on the five year anniversary of the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT.
