Wine Country Times

This week, House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force Chairman Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-04) and members of the task force hosted a Congressional forum on the epidemic of gun violence.

“The Gun Violence Prevention Task Force forum highlighted personal stories, traumatic experiences, and informative research from an incredible slate of witnesses who made clear the physical and emotional toll that gun violence has on our children and our communities,” said Thompson. “Kids are scared to go to school, parents fear sending their kids to school, and teachers are scared they will have to fight off a shooter. The presenters reinforced that there are steps that Congress can take to help address the epidemic of gun violence, including my legislation to implement universal background checks. The Gun Violence Prevention Task Force will continue to work towards a safer and more secure future for all Americans.”

“The personal stories that we heard at the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force Forum were a stark, moving reminder of the need to address America’s epidemic of gun violence,” Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi said.  “As we heard in the presentation, there are several commonsense, overwhelmingly popular measures that we could enact right now to save lives, including universal background checks, safe storage requirements and reinstating the assault weapons ban.  House Democrats have passed this legislation before and are ready to vote for it again – so House Republicans must immediately end their opposition and join us to make this critical, life-saving legislation law.”

“Gun violence is far too prevalent in communities across the country – including my own,” Congresswoman Madeleine Dean said. “I was grateful to hear from a diverse panel of community members, advocates, and survivors during the forum and discuss how we can best prevent gun violence. Thank you to Chair Thompson and the entire Gun Violence Prevention Task Force for organizing this event and for your continued partnership as we work together to end the gun violence epidemic.”

“The forum made clear what too many of us know all too well: gun violence is a public health crisis. I am grateful for the witnesses who testified before the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force meeting and shed light on the toll that gun violence takes on our communities and the overwhelming public support for common-sense gun safety measures,” said Congresswoman Robin Kelly (IL-02). “I am proud to join my fellow Gun Violence Prevention Task Force members in renewing our call for immediate action to reduce gun violence. We cannot afford to wait.”

“I applaud the strength of our survivors who came here to share their stories. The legacies of those we have lost live on in this work,” said Congresswoman Lucy McBath. “The Gun Violence Prevention Task Force is taking steps to hear from survivors and local leaders to help stop these endless tragedies. I am grateful to my Task Force colleagues and our witnesses for their work as we continue our fight to end gun violence.”

"Gun violence survivors like Mr. Lloyd Gock serve as a beacon of hope during a time of immense grief and sorrow, and I extend my sincerest thanks to Mr. Glock and every other witness for joining the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force to testify at the forum,” said Rep. Judy Chu. “It was not an easy ask for Mr. Gock to relive the unimaginable violence and horror of what he saw during the January mass shooting in Monterey Park—and to describe its lasting toll on his and other survivors' health—but he wanted his testimony to underscore how essential it is for Congress to pass additional gun safety measures and an assault weapons ban now."

Photos from the forum can be found here.

A video of the forum can be found here.

The witnesses at the forum included:

• Anna King is the 57th president of the National Parent Teacher Association (PTA). From Oklahoma, Ms. King is a gun owner, and has over 20 years of leadership experience at all levels of PTA, including Oklahoma PTA president and National PTA vice president of membership. Ms. King is a vocal advocate for gun violence prevention policies.
• Dr. April M. Zeoli is an Associate Professor in the Department of Health Management Policy at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. Dr. Zeoli conducts interdisciplinary research, with a goal of bringing together the fields of public health and criminology and criminal justice. Her main fields of investigation are the prevention of firearm violence, intimate partner violence, and homicide through the use of policy and law. She is one of the nation’s leading experts on policy interventions for firearm use in intimate partner violence.
• Lloyd Gock is a survivor of the Monterey Park shooting that killed 11 people and injured 9 others. Mr. Gock is a small business owner from Alhambra, California.
• Susie Kaufman has been a leader in the Minnesota Moms Demand Action chapter for 5 years. After 13 years working as a teacher and administrator at middle and high schools in New York City, Susie moved to Minneapolis with her family and became more focused on community organization and activism. As a leader in the Minnesota chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, Susie has helped organize volunteers to spread messages in support of common-sense gun laws and gun safety, as well as coordinated statewide events in honor of National Gun Violence Awareness Day.
• Steven Kling is a leading member of the Texas chapter of Giffords Gun Owners for Safety. Steven is a decorated Army combat veteran who served tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. He is a former military firearms trainer, who wants to see the gun owning community work to keep our communities safe by embracing accountability, responsibility, training, and safety. He is a father of two boys in Texas public schools and is deeply concerned about calls to arm teachers.
• Angela Kuefler is a Partner for Research from Global Strategy Group. Kuefler is also one of the country’s leading researchers on gun violence prevention. Kuefler has led countless studies on gun violence prevention for over a decade, and her work on persuading Republican voters to change their minds about guns was recently cited in the New York Times. She has been active in polling on gun violence prevention issues for over a decade.
• Dr. Celeste Malone is an associate professor and coordinator of the school psychology program at Howard University. Since graduate school, Dr. Malone has continuously held leadership positions in national psychology professional associations, including the American Psychological Association (APA) and the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP), as well as state-level professional associations. She currently serves as the President of the National Association of School Psychologists.

Melody M. Maddox is the DeKalb County Sheriff. Her successful 20 plus-year career in law enforcement includes experience with various agencies serving the Atlanta area. She believes law enforcement is more than a job. It is an honorable profession and a way of life to which she is deeply committed. Sheriff Maddox is Peace Officer Standard Training certified and she is certified as a defensive tactics instructor. Her professional affiliations include the Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police, International Association of Chiefs of Police, Women in Public Safety, National Sheriffs’ Association, and the National Organization for Black Law Enforcement Executives.

Issues: Gun Violence Prevention

Original source can be found here