Dear Frank R. Lautenberg, Robert 'Bob' Menendez, Jon D. Runyan
As a constituent and American Public Health Association advocate, I write to urge you to take immediate action to address the epidemic of gun violence in the United States. President Obama recently announced a comprehensive proposal to reduce gun violence that includes a number of important recommendations made by APHA and other members of the public health and medical community. I strongly urge you to act quickly on these important proposals.
Gun violence is one of the leading causes of preventable death in our country, resulting in more than 30,000 deaths each year, and we must take a comprehensive public health approach to address this ongoing crisis. For too long, we as a nation have failed to take on this devastating problem in our communities and we cannot afford to wait any longer.
President Obama has a Plan that includes the following:
1) Closing background check loopholes to keep guns out of dangerous hands
2) Banning military-style assault weapons and high- capacity magazines, and taking other common sense steps to reduce gun violence.
3) Making schools safer
4) Increasing access to Mental Health Services.
I strongly agree with President Obama’s view on gun violence and the plan he has going forward. I believe that number four on his list; increasing access to mental health services is very important. I think that the death of many may not have necessarily been just the result of gun violence; but a combination of both; gun violence and the lack of mental health resources available to the public.
I strongly urge you to support common-sense measures to reduce gun violence including, but not limited to:
- Removing all restrictions on federally funded research of gun violence, including codifying the president's executive memorandum directing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other scientific agencies to research the causes of gun violence