Everytown For Gun Safety And Moms Demand Action For Gun Sense In America Thank Congressman Mike Thompson For Leadership On Gun Violence Prevention

WASHINGTON, May 30, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In the aftermath of the tragic Santa Barbara shooting in his home state of California, Everytown for Gun Safety and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America applaud Congressman Mike Thompson on his leadership as the Chair of the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force. Today, the Congressman announced the Promoting Healthy Minds for Safer Communities Act, a bill that advances reforms to keep our families and communities safe.

"Americans across the country are calling for 'Not One More' life to be cut short by senseless gun violence – and today Congressman Thompson has, once again, answered that call by proposing reforms that will protect women from gun violence and advance the conversation on how to keep guns out of the hands of people suffering from mental illness that endangers themselves or others," said John Feinblatt, President of Everytown for Gun Safety. "As chair of the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, Congressman Thompson has repeatedly called on his colleagues to follow his lead to pass common-sense gun legislation."

The Promoting Healthy Minds for Safer Communities Act lays out a number of important measures that will protect women from domestic violence, equip law enforcement with the proper resources to stop dangerous individuals and address core mental health concerns.

Among other important provisions, the bill:

• Keeps guns out of dangerous hands by ensuring that abusive dating partners and convicted stalkers cannot legally purchase and possess guns;
  
• Addresses problems with records in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) that may allow spousal abusers to pass background checks and buy guns;
  
• Enables law enforcement to catch and prosecute criminals who try to buy guns illegally by requiring the Department of Justice to notify local and state authorities when a dangerous person fails a background check at the point of sale;
  
• Reauthorizes funding to help states submit records to the background check system and creates state-specific submission plans tailored to the needs of each state; and
  
• Clarifies that federal law does not block doctors from talking to their patients about gun safety or from reporting threats of violence to authorities and that federal privacy law does not block states from reporting mental health records to the background check system.

"Just like Senator Klobuchar's Protecting Domestic Violence and Stalking Victims Act in the Senate, Congressman Thompson's bill would save women's lives by ensuring that abusive dating partners and convicted stalkers are prohibited from buying or owning guns," said Shannon Watts, Founder of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. "As a result of our country's weak gun laws, American woman are 11 time more likely to be murdered with a gun than women in any other developed nation – and 57 percent of mass shootings involve domestic violence or violence against women, as we saw in this most recent tragedy. We thank Congressman Thompson for his leadership in protecting American women from gun violence."

About Everytown for Gun Safety
Everytown for Gun Safety is a movement of Americans fighting for common-sense policies that will reduce gun violence and save lives.  Everytown is the largest gun violence prevention organization in the country with more than 1.5 million supporters including moms, mayors, survivors, and everyday Americans who are fighting for reforms that respect the Second Amendment and protect people.  At the core of Everytown are Mayors Against Illegal Guns, founded in 2006 by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and former Boston Mayor Tom Menino, and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, a grassroots movement of American mothers founded on the day after Newtown.  Learn more at www.everytown.org and follow us @Everytown

About Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America
Much like Mothers Against Drunk Driving was created to change laws regarding drunk driving, Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America was created to build support for common-sense gun reforms. The nonpartisan grassroots movement of American mothers is demanding new and stronger solutions to lax gun laws and loopholes that jeopardize the safety of our children and families. Since its inception after the Sandy Hook Elementary mass shooting, Moms Demand Action has established a chapter in every state of the country and is part of Everytown for Gun Safety along with Mayors Against Illegal Guns. Everytown is the largest gun violence prevention organization in the country with more than 1.5 million supporters including moms, mayors, survivors, and everyday Americans who are fighting for reforms that respect the Second Amendment and protect people. For more information or to get involved visit www.momsdemandaction.org. Follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MomsDemandAction or on Twitter at @MomsDemand

MEDIA CONTACTS
Erika Soto Lamb, [email protected], (646) 580-5281
Lizzie Ulmer, [email protected], (269) 271-2331

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SOURCE Everytown for Gun Safety; Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America