Washington, DC – At the State of the Union address, Congressman Mark DeSaulnier (CA-11) applauded President Obama’s continued thoughtful, earnest dialogue on gun violence prevention.
DeSaulnier’s guest for the speech was Amanda Wilcox, Legislation and Policy Chair of the California Chapters of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.
“The empty seat in the House gallery, which represented all victims of gun violence, was a reminder of the millions of people who have tragically lost their lives. Tonight, I asked Amanda Wilcox to join me for the President’s address. Amanda and her husband, Nick, lost their 19-year old daughter, Laura, when she was shot to death while working at a mental health clinic.
On average 289 people are shot in the United States every day. As President Obama said, we must recognize this is a public health epidemic. Too many children, mothers, fathers, and loved ones have lost their lives waiting for action. Reasonable people can work together to find common sense solutions to this problem while protecting the rights of lawful gun owners,” said Congressman DeSaulnier.
“I am honored to be Congressman DeSaulnier’s guest tonight. He was a champion for gun violence prevention in the California legislature, where he carried two Brady Campaign priority bills, and he deeply cares about this issue,” said Amanda Wilcox, California Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.
Last month, DeSaulnier urged President Obama to take executive action on a series of gun safety initiatives (letter here), including closing the gaps that exist in federal regulations through which some law enforcement agencies are still not required to safely store and lock their firearms when they are not in use
