Gun Violence

Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) issued the following statement today following a weekend of civil rights abuses by unidentified federal officers in Portland operating at the direction of Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf, amid reports that similar DHS deployments are expected to begin in Chicago: “Acting Secretary Wolf is overseeing authoritarian abuses that betray our bedrock… Read more »

Rep. Don Beyer today hailed the passage of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act by the House of Representatives. The bill, which passed this evening with bipartisan support, represents the most ambitious federal reform of law enforcement powers in decades. “The George Floyd Justice In Policing Act is a step towards justice and accountability. We cannot bring George Floyd or Breonna… Read more »

U.S. Supreme Court may sidestep a big Second Amendment fight BY ROBIN BRAVENDER - 12/2/2019 A high-profile gun rights case argued before the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday might be dismissed with little fanfare. The justices heard an hour of arguments in the case that challenges now-defunct New York City gun restrictions. The case has been billed as the biggest gun rights lawsuit in… Read more »

Today, the Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO) Act of 2019, H.R. 1236, passed out of the House Judiciary Committee’s gun violence prevention markup, moving it one step closer to a vote on the House floor. The bipartisan legislation was introduced by Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-CA) and co-led by Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA), Rep. Ted Deutch (D-FL) and Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA).  “This is a… Read more »

Democrats eye action on threat of white nationalism BY MIKE LILLIS - 08/28/19 Democrats on Capitol Hill are pressing hard to adopt tougher gun laws following a pair of mass shootings this month that horrified the country and rekindled the on-again, off-again push to install higher barriers to owning firearms. But as Congress prepares to return to Washington next… Read more »

CNN |  Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer is planning to ask the Trump administration to withdraw its request for $5 billion in border wall funding and redirect the funding to counter gun violence and white supremacy extremism, a person familiar with Schumer's thinking told CNN. The Trump administration is unlikely to be receptive to the request, especially given… Read more »

Rep. Beyer (D-VA) today joined House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, survivors of gun violence, and his colleagues Rep. Anthony Brown (D-MD), Donald Payne Jr. (D-NJ), Debbie Dingell (D-MI), and Eliot Engel (D-NY) in the U.S. Capitol to call on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to take up and pass H.R. 8, the Bipartisan Background Checks Act. His remarks, below (as prepared), were… Read more »

WTOP |  In the wake of the mass shootings that killed 31 in Texas and Ohio, gun violence victims joined House Democratic leaders Tuesday and urged Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to allow a vote and pass expanded gun-sale background checks. More than 9,000 people have died so far this year as a result of gun violence, including more than 250 in mass shootings. Twenty-two… Read more »

The Hill |  A handful of House Democrats returned to Washington on Tuesday to press House Republicans to tackle gun control immediately, and to accuse Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) of single-handedly blocking tougher laws at the expense of public safety.  Democrats have long sought legislation to expand background checks before gun sales, which… Read more »

U.S. News & World Report |  A number of House Democrats on Tuesday briefly returned to Washington in the midst of their six-week recess to ramp up pressure on Senate Republicans to consider a bill the lower chamber passed on universal background checks for gun buyers after recent deadly mass shootings. During a Tuesday press conference led by House Majority Leader Steny… Read more »