Schneider Statement on the Passage of Historic, Bipartisan Gun Violence Prevention Legislation

WASHINGTON — Today, Congressman Brad Schneider (IL-10) issued the following statement after the House passed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, landmark legislation to reduce gun violence and save lives:

"Today, Congress has taken the first step in a much overdue journey: we have passed bipartisan legislation to reduce gun violence. The soon-to-be law will provide support for state crisis intervention orders, close the boyfriend loophole, create new penalties for straw purchases, and require new enhanced background checks for people under 21. These steps are far from a comprehensive answer to preventing mass shootings, but if this package is enough for Gabby Giffords, Lucy McBath, and our nation's countless victims of gun violence, then today it is good enough for me.

"While today we celebrate this landmark, tomorrow the work will resume in our mission to protect our families from gun violence. I will continue to pursue gun violence prevention legislation that will shore up the background check system, keep guns out of the hands of criminals, and ban military-style assault weapons. So long as America struggles with the tragedy of gun violence, we cannot rest."

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