Group Calls Bill “Most Extreme Being Debated in the U.S. Today”
Yesterday, members of the Missouri chapter of Moms Demand Action testified against SB613, or the Second Amendment Preservation Act—a controversial gun bill designed to loosen gun restrictions and nullify existing guns laws.
If passed, this law would nullify all federal gun laws; allow the open carry of firearms up to 16 inches in length; lower the age for concealed-carry permit holders from 21 to 19; allow school districts to designate one or more teachers or administrators as armed school protection officers; specify that no licensed health care professional may be required by law to ask a patient if he/she owns a firearm; and prevent conceal-carry permit holders from being disarmed or physically restrained by law enforcement officers unless under arrest.
“This is the most extreme and outrageous gun bill being debated in the U.S. right now,” said Melissa Brooks, Missouri chapter leader for Moms Demand Action. “Nothing in this bill promotes gun safety, and loosening gun laws at this time of increasing gun violence in America is irresponsible and downright dangerous.”
According to data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), people ages 18 to 24 account for a disproportionate percentage of arrests for homicides and violent crime. Furthermore, a (K. Vittes et al., Legal Status and Source of Offenders’ Firearms in States with the Least Stringent Criteria for Gun Ownership, 19 Inj. Previous.26, 2013) survey of convicted gun offenders in 13 states found that nearly a quarter would have been prohibited from obtaining firearms at the time of the crime if the minimum legal age for possessing firearms was 21 years.
“With the horror our country has been experiencing at the hands of violent gun offenders, it is unconscionable that our lawmakers are even debating this law,” said Brooks. “As moms, we demand common-sense gun laws not only be kept in place, but strengthened for the health and safety of our children, and all our communities.”