WASHINGTON — Congressman Mike Thompson will lead a task force to investigate new steps Congress can take to reduce gun violence and prevent massacres such as the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.
“As we mourn the unspeakable tragedy in Newtown, we must respond with more than words; we must take action. We must be able to tell our children that we are doing everything in our power to prevent this from happening again,” Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi said Wednesday. “I am pleased to appoint Congressman Thompson to lead our task force to reduce and prevent gun violence. He is a Vietnam veteran and an avid hunter, and he is ideally suited to lead this effort, working with the administration, and in a bipartisan way, to ban assault weapons and assault magazines.”
“As a father and grandfather, I am deeply shocked and saddened by the senseless act of violence we”re mourning in Newtown,” Thompson said. “Something must be done, and so I am honored to be chairing a House Democratic task force on reducing and preventing gun violence.
“I am a gun owner, hunter, former co-chair of the Congressional Sportsman Caucus, supporter of the Second Amendment and a combat veteran who carried an assault rifle in Vietnam,” Thompson continued. “I understand guns, their purpose and how they are used. Military-type assault weapons and assault magazines have no place on our streets and in our communities. We also need to consider instituting more detailed background checks and making sure appropriate mental health services are available. As chair of this task force I will work on these issues as part of a comprehensive approach to reduce gun violence and strengthen our nation”s gun laws while protecting law abiding citizens” right to own legitimate firearms.”
