Press Releases

Washington, DC – Today, Congressman Salud Carbajal (CA-24) and Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) asked President Trump for his support to pass their bipartisan GVRO (Gun Violence Restraining Order) Act, H.R. 2598. Last week, the President and Vice President supported the implementation of GVROs nationwide, laws that are currently law in the Vice President’s home state of Indiana as well as in California.

“The President called on Congress last week to find common ground and work toward solutions that can prevent tragedies like the one in Parkland, Florida,” said Rep. Carbajal. “GVROs do just that, disarming individuals in crisis while maintaining due process. I am hopeful to see the President and Vice President express their support for this commonsense measure to provide law enforcement a tool to temporarily disarm individuals in crisis, but we also need their leadership to demand a vote on this bipartisan bill.”

“In the days since the Parkland shooting, NRA officials and Republican lawmakers have repeatedly said that we need to take guns away from those who exhibit so-called ‘red flags.’” said Senator Feinstein. “What the gun lobby and Republicans fail to mention is that in many states those red flags aren’t reason enough to take someone’s gun away. The legal process to do so just doesn’t exist. Only a handful of states have a legal process to take those guns away, while the vast majority of states leave families with little recourse if they fear their loved ones want to hurt themselves or others. If the president and Republicans are serious about addressing this issue, they should support our Gun Violence Restraining Order Act, which would help states put such court processes in place.”

A copy of the letter can be found here and the full text is below:

The Honorable Donald J. Trump                               

President of the United States                                   

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.                             

Washington, D.C. 20500                                           

Dear President Trump:

We are writing to express our support for finding common ground and enacting safety measures that would prevent further loss of life to gun violence. We were heartened by your discussions that touched on encouraging states to implement Gun Violence Restraining Orders during your recent meeting with our colleagues on February 28, 2018. We agree that it is absolutely critical to empower families and give law enforcement the tools they need to prevent further tragedies due to gun violence. To that end, we encourage you to support the enactment of H.R. 2598, the Gun Violence Restraining Order Act/ S. 1212, the Gun Violence Prevention Order Act, which we introduced in May 2017.

Gun violence restraining orders (GVROs), also referred to as gun violence prevention orders and extreme risk protection orders, allow family members and law enforcement to petition a court to prevent their loved ones from having access to firearms if sufficient evidence exists that these individuals pose a threat to themselves or others. Based on states’ already-established domestic violence protective order processes, GVRO laws ensure due process by allowing the individual the ability to appeal the court order at any time.

H.R. 2598/ S. 1212, the Gun Violence Restraining Order Act, would encourage states to adopt GVRO laws by creating a new grant program to support state courts and law enforcement in the law’s implementation process. Currently, five states, including California, Washington, Oregon, Indiana, and Connecticut, have enacted variations of GVROs—but this number can and should grow. We know that these laws work and have saved lives.

We have seen too many lives lost due to gun violence. We stand ready to work with you to ensure passage of this measure that seeks to bring sensible solutions to the gun violence epidemic plaguing our nation.

Sincerely,

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