Scanlon, Wild, Dean, and Houlahan Join House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force

Statement

Representatives-elect Madeleine Dean (PA-04 in 116th Congress) and Chrissy Houlahan (PA-06 in 116th Congress) and current Representatives Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-07) and Susan Wild (PA-15) announced that they have joined the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force for the 116th Congress.

"Voters across our region called for a commitment from us to do what previous Congresses have failed to do: confront America's epidemic of gun violence," said the group. "This is a problem that has left our communities exposed to incredible heartache and tragedy and continues to take tens of thousands of American lives every year. We are committed to leading the charge on major gun violence prevention legislation to keep our communities safe. The House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force has real plans underway for how to do just that."

The four representatives were endorsed ahead of the 2018 election by Giffords: Courage to Fight Gun Violence, the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, Everytown for Gun Safety, and others. They have all called for major legislative advances including universal background checks, federally funded research into gun violence prevention, and limits on large-capacity magazines, among others.

Today marks the 6th anniversary of the deadly shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut that took the lives of 20 children between the age of six and seven, as well as six adult staff members.

On average, 96 Americans die from gun violence each day; seven of them are children or teens. Gun-related deaths are now the third leading cause of death for American children: more than 2,700 children and teens are shot and killed every year, nearly 1,000 as a result of suicide.