Congressman Sires Responds to President Obama's Plan to Protect our Children and our Communities by Reducing Gun Violence

Statement

Today, Congressman Albio Sires issued the following statement regarding the President's plan to protect our children and our communities by reducing gun violence:

"President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden outlined a plan to combat the growing epidemic of gun violence in our country. They outlined a comprehensive approach that protects the rights of law abiding citizens, deters violent offenders from having access to firearms and provides better resources to our teachers, law enforcement and mental health professionals to help prevent future mass shootings.

I am encouraged the President's proposal includes criminal background checks on all gun sales, a ban on military-style assault weapons and high capacity magazines, and strengthens law enforcement's efforts to stop the illegal gun market and enforce gun control laws that already exist. We need to explore every possibility to make schools, streets and communities a safe environment for our children and the time has come to take meaningful action.

My office has received requests from constituents all across our congressional district to ask that we make every effort to help bring these proposals to the floor of the House of Representatives. In addition, Mayor Jeremiah Healy of Jersey City who was in Washington D.C. as a member of the bipartisan advocacy group Mayors Against Illegal Guns, visited my office to voice his support of the President's efforts to curb gun violence through sensible legislation. In my capacity as a member of the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force I look forward to working with my colleagues in Congress to pass effective and overdue legislation to reduce gun violence."

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