Above: Gottheimer in Hackensack calling for a Common Sense Strategy to combat gun violence and ensure school safety.

HACKENSACK, NJ— Today, June 11, 2022, U.S. Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5) took part in the Bergen County March For Our Lives Rally. This week, Gottheimer announced a Common Sense Strategy to combat gun violence and ensure school safety, including ongoing bipartisan discussions in the House and Senate, including with the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, to get commonsense bipartisan, bicameral legislation to the President’s desk.

“There have already been more than 250 mass shootings this year — that’s more than the number of days we’ve had in the year. And 693 last year. Moms. Dads. Sons and daughters. Lives cut short. Families torn apart. Senseless violence,” said Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5). “We need a Common Sense Strategy to combat gun violence and ensure school safety. That’s why I’m working with members from both sides of the aisle in the House and Senate, including with the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, which I co-chair, on commonsense bipartisan, bicameral legislation that can actually get to the President’s desk.”

Steps included in Gottheimer’s Common Sense Strategy to combat gun violence:

• Red flag laws;
• Raising the age to purchase a semi-automatic rifle;
• Improved background checks;
• Addressing the gun show, Charleston, boyfriend, and bump stock loopholes;
• Putting in place new rules for proper at-home gun storage;
• Expanding access to mental health services; and
• Ensuring bipartisan, bicameral legislation can get to the President’s desk.

Gottheimer is also leading the following efforts to combat gun violence:

• Introducing the bipartisan ALYSSA Act, named after Alyssa Alhadeff, who was originally from North Jersey, and who lost her life at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida, to require schools nationwide to have silent alarms and to support trained school resource officers.
• Cosponsoring and helping pass the bipartisan Protecting Our Kids Act in the House to raise the age limit to 21 for purchasing a semi-automatic rifle, ban the sale of ammunition magazines with a capacity of more than 15 rounds, close the bump stock loophole, establish new federal offenses for gun trafficking, and put in place new rules on proper at-home gun storage.
• Cosponsoring and helping pass the bipartisan Federal Extreme Risk Protection Order in the House, which will empower family members and law enforcement to seek a federal court order to temporarily prohibit individuals from purchasing or possessing guns if they pose a danger to themselves or others.
• Cosponsoring assault weapons ban legislation to make it a crime to import, sell, manufacture, transfer, or possess a semiautomatic assault weapon.
• Cosponsoring H.R.8, the Bipartisan Background Checks Act, to close the Gun Show Loophole by expanding background checks.
• Cosponsoring and helping pass the Enhanced Background Checks Act in the House to close the Charleston Loophole that allows a firearm sale to proceed even if the FBI has not yet completed a background check.

Gottheimer was joined today by Senator Bob Menendez, Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, March For Our Lives, Bergen County Commissioners Tom Sullivan, Germaine Ortiz, Mary Amoroso, Ramon Hache, Tracy Zur,Assemblymember Shama Haider, New Jersey State Senator Gordon Johnson, as well as local elected officials, and North Jersey families.

Below: Gottheimer at the Bergen County March For Our Lives Rally.

###