Rep. Larsen responds to Las Vegas shooting | Update

October 3, 2017 3:55 pm
Rep. Larsen responds to Las Vegas shooting | Update

Submitted by Rep. Rick Larsen’s office

Rep. Rick Larsen (WA-02) offered condolences, following the mass shooting in Las Vegas on Sunday, Oct. 1. It has been reported as the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.

“This morning, I woke up to the tragic news of the mass shooting in Las Vegas. More than 50 people have been killed and hundreds of others have been wounded. I ask that everyone continue to support those who were affected, including local law enforcement, and offer strength, courage and healing to the Las Vegas community.”

On Oct. 3, Larsen released the following statement urging Congress to take action on legislation to prevent gun violence:

“Thoughts and prayers can comfort, lend strength, and help heal – but they cannot prevent gun violence. Gun safety legislation can, specifically by:

1. Re-instating a ban on military-style assault weapons and high-capacity magazines above 10 rounds;

2. Lifting the ban on federally-funded research into the causes of gun violence, and;

3. Strengthening background checks, including by extending the period of time investigators have to complete a delayed background check from three to 14 days.

These policies would not prevent every massacre, but they would give law enforcement more tools to prevent killings, provide lawmakers with a better understanding of firearm-related homicide and suicide, and limit the breadth and depth of damage would-be killers can inflict.

In every corner of the United States, including in my District, gun massacres are a fact of life: In 2016, a gunman killed five people at the Cascade Mall in Burlington. In 2014, a student opened fire at Marysville-Pilchuck High School, killing four. In 2008, six people were killed in a Skagit County shooting spree. And some of my constituents have been affected by the October 1st shooting in Las Vegas.

Congress has a responsibility to keep Americans safe from mass shootings.

That is why I am once again calling on members on both sides of the aisle to take responsibility for what is within our control – the law. No single law can prevent the actions of a murderer, but there are steps Congress can take to save lives and make communities safer from gun violence.”