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Dear
San
Franciscan,
Five
years
ago
this
week,
a
gunman
took
the
lives
of
20
children
and
six
teachers
at
Sandy
Hook
Elementary.
The
families
of
the
victims
of
gun
violence
deserve
more
than
just
our
thoughts
and
prayers
–
they
deserve
real,
urgent
and
long-overdue
action
to
end
this
crisis.
But
just
months
after
two
of
the
worst
mass
shootings
in
modern
American
history,
the
House
Republican
Leadership
is
pushing
a
bill
that
in
my
view
will
exacerbate
the
epidemic
of
gun
violence.
This
week,
Congress
will
take
a
key
vote
on
guns
and
public
safety
that
will
have
devastating
consequences
for
Californians.
The
Concealed
Carry
Reciprocity
(H.R.
38)
creates
a
dangerous
threat
to
public
safety
by
forcing
states
with
strong
concealed
carry
laws
to
accept
permits
from
states
with
weak
or
nonexistent
concealed
carry
laws,
thereby
undermining
California’s
comprehensive
permitting
standards.
In
addition,
the
legislation
would
allow
untrained
and
potentially
dangerous
people
from
more
than
a
dozen
states
that
require
no
permits
at
all
to
carry
hidden
guns
and
bring
them
into
our
state.
Of
Representatives
from
California,
thirteen
serve
as
cosponsors
of
the
bill.
(Note:
There
are
no
California
Democrats
in
support).
Shockingly,
this
legislation
will
be
on
the
House
floor
after
two
of
our
nation’s
deadliest
mass
shootings
have
occurred
in
the
last
two
months.
Meanwhile,
the
Republican
Leadership
has
refused
to
take
action
on
banning
the
“bump
stocks”
used
by
the
Las
Vegas
shooter
to
turn
a
semiautomatic
weapon
into
a
machine
gun.
We
have
a
solemn
obligation
to
the
victims
of
Sutherland
Springs,
Las
Vegas,
Orlando,
Newtown
and
the
many
tragic
shootings
that
occur
each
day
to
respond
not
only
with
prayer
and
unwavering
love,
but
with
action.
That
is
why
I
have
called
on
Speaker
Ryan
to
create
a
bipartisan
Select
Committee
on
Gun
Violence
to
study
and
report
back
common-sense
gun
violence
prevention
legislation
to
help
end
this
crisis.
A
commonsense
response
from
Congress
is
necessary
to
ensure
that
no
other
family
is
forced
to
endure
such
an
unimaginable
tragedy;
in
my
opinion,
this
legislation
will
only
amplify
the
gun
violence
crisis.
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