Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D Supports Measures to Prevent Another Mass School Shooting.

The slaughter of 17 people in Florida on Valentine’s Day has brought forward a slew of proposals and ideas on ways to prevent such an occurrence from happening – again and again and again.  Trump who originally said he supported the idea of increasing the age to 21 years from 18 years has backed down from that – after meeting on Sunday with several members of the NRA at the White House.  At a press conference today, Sarah Sanders, said that the idea remains “under discussion.”  Who Knew?  Who Believes?!

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) has co-sponsored to reinstate the lapsed ban on the sale of assault weapons and H.R. 4240, a discharge petition that would bring legislation to prevent gun violence immediately to the floor.  While 156 House members have co-sponsored the assault weapons ban introduced by Representative Cicilline (D-RI) and Ted Deutch (D-FL), Pingree urged more of her colleagues to act in the wake of the Parkland high school shooting which left 17 dead at the hands of an AR-15 assault weapon.

“Sandy Hook, Orlando, Las Vegas, Sutherland Springs, and now Parkland – the common denominator between all of these awful tragedies has been the use of assault weapons.  Built to kill, these customizable weapons have allowed gunmen to slaughter dozens of innocent people swiftly, easily and with no special training,” wrote Pingree in a press release issued today.  “Since the ban on assault weapons lapsed in 2004, far too many of the weapons have ended up in the wrong hands.  There is no one solution to reducing mass shootings and other forms of gun violence.  In our nation, reinstating the ban on assault weapons would be a critical step,” wrote Pingree in the press release.

House Republican Leadership has failed to bring legislation to the floor to address this violence despite the widespread public support for an assault weapons ban and background checks.