Press Releases

WASHINGTON – Today, Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.) voted to protect Delaware communities and save lives with a strong legislative package to address gun violence.  The Protecting Our Kids Act includes common-sense gun safety measures that will crack down on illegal gun trafficking, keep weapons of war out of the hands of teenagers, strengthen safe gun storage, restrict access to untraceable “ghost guns” and more. The package passed the House of Representatives by a bipartisan vote of  223 Yeas and 204 Nays. 

“It is outrageous and unacceptable that gun violence is the leading killer of children in our nation,” said Rep. Blunt Rochester. “Not only are we witnessing a regular drumbeat of horrific mass shootings, but our communities are also forever scarred by the daily gun violence that rarely makes the headlines.  Today, the House took bold action to help stop the bloodshed, in Delaware and in communities across the country.  The Protecting our Kids Act would help keep our communities safe: from getting illegal guns off the streets to banning high-capacity weapons to raising the age to purchase semi-automatic weapons.  As the House prepares to take up additional gun safety legislation tomorrow and in the weeks to come, I remain committed to ending America’s gun violence epidemic and building a safer future for families across our country.”

Gun violence in America is responsible for more than 45,000 deaths per year.  Every day, 30 Americans are murdered with a gun – a number that rises to more than 100 when counting suicides and accidental shootings.  In addition to this daily loss of life, gun violence continues to inflict a heavy financial burden – imposing $2.8 billion in emergency room and inpatient costs on Americans each year.

This epidemic of gun violence has continued to tear through communities in Delaware and across the country.  Last month, Americans were horrified by mass shootings at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas and a supermarket in Buffalo, New York – both carried out by 18-year-olds legally armed with semi-automatic assault rifles.  Just this past weekend, at least thirteen mass shootings terrorized more communities across the country while Delaware continued to experience additional gun violence.

The Protecting Our Kids Act takes key steps to address this crisis and safeguard American’s wellbeing.  This bold legislative package includes several measures, including:

• The Raise the Age Act: raising the purchasing age for semi-automatic weapons to 21 years old.  Currently, someone could buy a semi-automatic rifle, the weapon of choice in many mass shootings, at just 18 years old – yet you must be 21 to buy a less lethal handgun.
• The Prevent Gun Trafficking Act: cracking down on gun trafficking and straw purchases to get illegal guns off of our streets.
• The Untraceable Firearms Act: subjecting ghost gun purchases to background check requirements.
• The Closing the Bump Stock Loophole Act: closing the bump stock loophole to ban these deadly tools from civilian use.
• The Keep Americans Safe Act: outlawing high-capacity magazines, which are designed for killing en masse and have been the accessory of choice in the bloodiest mass shootings.
• Strengthening safe storage requirements to protect children from accidental shootings.
• Requiring an annual report of demographic data of those being determined to be ineligible to purchase guns.

The Protecting Our Kids Act builds on the House’s twice-passed legislation advancing universal background checks for all gun purchases, action that is supported by nearly nine in ten Americans.  Tomorrow, the House will vote on additional legislation establishing extreme risk protection orders, empowering courts to keep firearms out of the hands of individuals who pose a danger to themselves or others. 

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