Richard Larsen

From Columbine to Sandy Hook to Parkland to Uvalde, and far too many others, our classrooms have become the scene of incomprehensible devastation too many times, as have our theaters, our concerts, our grocery stores – even our places of worship. After Uvalde, enough was finally enough. This June, I supported, and Congress passed, the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the first major legislation on gun safety since 1994. The bill contained a set of reforms that are both meaningful enough to make a difference but modest enough overcome the filibuster. It enhances background checks for 18- to 21-year-old gun buyers; closes the so-called boyfriend loophole and restricts gun ownership for domestic violence offenders who are not married to their partners; creates financial incentives for states to adopt red-flag laws that allow police or relatives and acquaintances to petition courts to order the removal of a gun if the individual is deemed dangerous; and funds school safety and youth mental health programs. While these reforms, known as the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, do not go as far as many Democrats – including me – would prefer, they are a step in the right direction, and will save lives. Other sensible, pragmatic steps that Congress can take – which I have voted for and which are supported by strong majorities of Americans – include establishing universal background checks to keep guns out of the hands of criminals; banning large-capacity magazines and bump stocks to reduce the lethality of weapons; require safe storage to keep guns out of the hands of children; and raising the legal age for buying semiautomatic rifles to 21, which would have prevented the shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde.