Jackson Urges Congressional Courage to Stop Gun Violence

Source: Office of Sen. Jackson

A resolution by Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara) urging Congress to reauthorize and strengthen the federal assault weapons ban and calling on CalPERS to divest its gun holdings passed off the Senate floor today with 24 votes in support. Senate Joint Resolution 24 now heads to the Assembly. 

“More than 400 Americans have been killed or wounded by firearms in over 200 school shootings since Sandy Hook,” said Senator Jackson. “It is morally reprehensible that Congress has done nothing to protect our children from horrific gun violence in their schools. Our students should be safe at school and able to focus on their grades, not guns.”

While military-style assault weapons have been banned in California for decades, the federal assault weapons ban was allowed to expire in 2004. With its strict gun control laws, California has reduced its gun mortality rate by over 56% since 1993, three and a half times the reduction made in the rest of the United States.

Americans overwhelmingly support stronger laws to prevent gun violence. A recent Washington Post-ABC News poll showed that 77 percent of respondents said President Donald Trump and Congress are not doing enough to stop mass shootings. A Quinnipiac poll found that 67 percent of Americans support a nationwide ban on the sale of assault weapons. The March for Our Lives student-led demonstrations against gun violence drew hundreds of thousands of people throughout the country. 

Senate Joint Resolution 24 urges Congress to reauthorize and strengthen the federal assault weapons ban. The resolution also urges CalPERS to take steps to reduce gun violence where Congress refuses to act by divesting all of its holdings related to the production and sale of firearms. 

Jackson represents the 19th Senate District, which includes all of Santa Barbara County and western Ventura County.

Edhat Staff

Written by Edhat Staff

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16 Comments

  1. Hannah Beth needs to concentrate on real issues and do her job.
    -Rampant fraud in the Food Debit Card program
    -Rampant fraud in the Section 8 Housing programs
    -High costs of medical care to WORKING Californians
    -Schools that need more technical studies / training programs for NON-College attending students
    -Making California “business friendly” instead of what she is good at; CREATING MORE bureaucracy

  2. It is an issue that the ACLU is more responsible for then the NRA- They have changed the rules- Kids that have serious violent mental issues are allowed in public schools to “integrate” with the other kids. They are protected by more layers than little Johnny or Susie…

  3. Uninformed speculation is easy, but if you look at actual data on the issue of gun violence, there are some clear conclusions. Through its bought and paid for members of the legislative branch, the NRA has blocked the CDC from conducting epidemiological studies of gun violence, but it is such an important policy issue that numerous independent large-scale studies have been carried out. The data from these, along with the data from countries that do have gun control, show several things:
    1) Gun violence has very little to do with mental illness.
    2) More guns means more crime and death.
    3) A gun in the home means your family members are an order of magnitude more likely to be injured or killed.
    4) Strict national gun control works.
    Well worth reading:
    http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20180417-what-would-happen-if-all-guns-disappeared
    https://www.vox.com/2015/10/3/9444417/gun-violence-united-states-america

  4. In years past, kids were educated about guns and safe handling of firearms, in a rational way. They were taught how to shoot and to do it safely (proper gun handling). In the vacuum created by, “I don’t want my child to have anything to do with guns mentality,” unrealistic and dangerous media modalities are what children learn from. It is imperative that they be taught about sex, drugs AND firearms. All three are potentially dangerous aspects of life that will never go away no matter how many more laws are passed, and kids need to understand the world they are coming up into if they are to thrive.

  5. That was very well said. I grew up around guns, and learned how to handle and respect them properly, from a young age. When I was very young, and I might see a gun anywhere… it was, “If you see one, get an adult to pick it up, and put it away.” As I got older I learned to handle them, and NEVER assume the gun was not loaded. I also never would have picked up any of my father or brother’s guns without asking first. I also became a pretty good shot with a 22, in target practice. It was fun. Almost won some money at a carnival! Just missed shooting out the red circle by 1/16th of an inch. The worker was impressed. Said my last bullet had just gone through the hole I had already made with my first shots, and skimmed that edge… Darn!

  6. Gee, and I grew up watching cowboys, shooting guns. I guess I never considered the cowboys as ‘violent’, as they were most often using guns for defense. Of course, there were bad guys, but they usually ended up in jail, or going over a cliff. And during the times of cowboys, there wasn’t always a lawman available to help out, so guns were more necessary for safety from animals and the ‘bad’guys. We have had times more recently, when the fact that a ‘civlian’ with the right to carry a gun has saved many lives. However, I agree that many of the computer games and movies more recently, do include and glorify more violence, just for the sake of violence. And, it ironic that the people making those movies, etc., are against guns.

  7. You ask why are so there so many school shooting in recent years? In my humble opinion, our epidemic of gun violence, including school shootings, is driven by the daily bloodbath of shooting, guns and violence on the television. You can witness dozens of gruesome murders every night on TV. A high percentage of shows use guns to denote strength and power. Little wonder our children are desensitized to gun violence and see guns as their only course to get power and justice. I find it hypocritical that Hollywood celebrities and producers who serve up daily gun violence for personal profit are equally outspoken against gun violence.

  8. I am sorry I cant read your name because of the color of your heading – please identify yourself. All four of your “facts” are not facts at all and are nothing more than Progressive talking points. Just because you say it multiple times does not make it true. Guns in the hands of law abiding, mentally sound citizens does not create “more crime and death”. Why must Progressives continually attack our constitutional rights?

  9. Thank you, Concerned, for speaking the TRUTH. Just a few short decades ago, guns were so much more available than they are today. No registration required, no background checks, no waiting period, no capacity limits, yet there were NONE of these school shootings. Why? Look at what TV and movies promoted back then as opposed to now. Some 80% of movie ad posters feature guns. Violent video games where the objective is to ‘kill’ as many people as possible. Every movie now promotes getting a gun and executing your own brand of ‘justice’ as the answer. Young people don’t have the impulse control yet (brain studies prove this) until about age 26 or so. Remember what the Columbine killers were heard saying? “This is better than a movie.” These Hollywood directors have blood on their hands and should donate every CENT of their ill-gotten gains to charities.

  10. I love the fantasy, “-what-would-happen-if-all-guns-disappeared “. No amount of legislation will ever make guns disappear any more than they will make dangerous drugs disappear. They are both here for the duration of humanity, thanks to financial black market incentives. Unlike dangerous drugs though, firearms serve many useful purposes for the law abiding citizen, from hunting, recreational target practice to self defense. Please do not now cite “statistics” that say a gun in the home is more likely to kill you or a family member than to is to deter crime, as those “statistics are based on a data model specifically designed to achieve the desired (HCI) result. When one includes on the one side, the killing or injuring of a family member in OR outside the home and on the other side the killing (not wounding) of an assailant IN the home the numbers begin to become skewed. When one further realizes that almost 100% of gun wounds are documented through hospital records and a tiny percentage of self defense cases are documented the skewing goes further. When people call 911 and report that they just drove of a criminal without shooting them, the police say, “Good job” and do not record it in anyway. If successful, HannaBeth and her ilk will disarm all honest Citizens and the still armed criminals will know that they alone are armed and will emboldened.
    Mental health and substance abuse, whether it be illegal, alcohol or Pharma meds IS the main constant in gun violence.
    Between HannaBeth, Useless Lois Capps, and Feinstein, I hate to admit that I have consistently voted Democrat for 40 years. It was simply a matter of the lesser of evils and my frustration with the likes of former Congressman “Congo Bob” (Lagomarsino). Politicians…….

  11. Please look no further than Chicago. Gun control has been a complete disaster and has cost many lives. Why hasnt that changed – because Progressives lead that city and will never declare failure. Look at Obama Administration- libs still think he was greatest president ever..huh? We can expand this discussion to Illinois’ impending financial disaster as well – again led by the left. You have zero credibility when you provide MSM for your references. Since you did not provide a name we will just call you “clueless”.

  12. With regard to the disparagement of “mainstream media” – do you consider sources that do not respect journalistic principles such as fact-checking to be unreliable? Do you think the Harvard School of Public Health to be a biased media company? The CDC? Here’s some help for you:
    https://theconversation.com/alternative-facts-a-psychiatrists-guide-to-twisted-relationships-to-truth-72469

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