U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer, alongside actress, comedian and cousin, Amy Schumer, began a new team effort and public push to crackdown on mass shootings and gun violence currently plaguing this country. The cousins’ call comes in the wake of yet another mass shooting, this time in Layfayette, LA, that took the lives of two young women and injured at least nine others inside a movie theater.
The shooting took place during a screening of Amy Schumer’s movie Trainwreck, which prompted the actress to work with her senator cousin. During the joint press conference, the Schumers explained that more needs to be done to prevent people, like violent criminals, domestic abusers and the mentally ill, from too easily obtaining guns and using them to kill.
“I am teaming up with actress Amy Schumer to address the far too common and far too tragic issue of gun violence in this country, and today, we are demanding that congress take this issue very seriously,” said the senator. “If there is anything that the mass shootings in Lafayette, Chattanooga, Charleston, Virginia Tech, Aurora, Sandy Hook and so many other places have taught us, it’s that we should be do everything in our power to prevent weapons from falling into the hands of hateful evil-doers and the mentally ill —however, the U.S. is not doing enough and too many lives are at stake.”
The senator unveiled new legislation that creates monetary rewards for states that submit all necessary records into the background check system and creates penalties for states that do not submit all records. The Schumers explained that, in the case of the Charleston mass shooting, the Dylan Roof should have not passed a background check but was able to because of holes in the background check system. The cousins went on to say that, unfortunately, no one is punishing states that fail to submit all of their records.
Second, Schumer and Schumer are publicly urging congress to fully fund mental health and substance abuse programs that provide treatment to those in-need. Right now, the senate’s budget proposal cuts $159 million in funding from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The senator said that now is not the time to be cutting funding from these critically needed programs.
Thirdly, Schumer and Schumer are urging the federal Department of Justice (DOJ) to write a comprehensive report comparing all states’ standards for involuntary commitment. Moreover, they said that the DOJ should put forth recommendation on best practices that would serve as potential benchmarks for new policies.
“I was heartbroken when I heard about Columbine, and Sandy Hook, and Aurora, and so many other names and places that are now seared into the American memory,” said Amy Schumer, a Long Island native. “I was heartbroken, again, when I heard about Lafayette. And I still am. We need a background check system without holes and fatal flaws. We need one with accurate information that protects us like a firewall should. The critics scoff and say, ‘there is no way to stop crazy people from doing crazy things.’ They’re wrong. What Chuck is describing are sensible measures and restrictions. No one wants to live in a country where a felon, the mentally ill, or other dangerous people can get their hands on a gun with such ease. The time is now for the American people to rally for these changes.”
