'Talk Is Cheap': Dem Urges House GOP To Vote On Red Flag Laws That Have Their 'Purported Support'

4 months ago

Rep. Joe Neguse (D-CO) called on his Republican colleagues to vote for red flag laws that he claims they support.

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Transcript

00:00Well, first and foremost, good afternoon, everyone, and thank you to the Gun Violence

00:07Prevention Task Force leaders, to Chairman Thompson for his principled leadership of

00:12the task force for so many years, to Representative McBeth, my sister in service, and we served

00:18together on the Judiciary Committee, and she continues to inspire not just the members

00:23of our House Democratic Caucus, but really folks across the country in the way in which

00:28she's been able to convert personal anguish into action, and once again doing so here

00:33with respect to her leadership on the Red Flag Discharge Petition.

00:37Of course, my good colleague and friend, Representative Robin Kelly from the great state of Illinois,

00:42no one has worked harder, no one has worked harder in trying to curb and prevent and stop

00:49gun trafficking in our communities than Representative Kelly, best evidenced by the provision that

00:54she was able to get signed into law by President Biden just a few short years ago within the

00:59Bipartisan Safer Communities Act.

01:02There was a provision in that bill, of course, that Representative McBeth and Representative

01:06Carbajal worked vociferously on as well in relation to red flag laws, and we've heard

01:11a lot from some of our Republican colleagues about their purported support for these laws,

01:17which we know save lives.

01:19You heard from Chairman Thompson about the way in which these laws have saved lives in

01:23California.

01:24That's certainly true in my home state of Colorado that I'm privileged to represent

01:28here in the House.

01:30But in my view, talk is cheap.

01:33There's an opportunity for so-called moderate Republicans in the House Republican Conference

01:40to prove that they support these red flag laws.

01:45They can do so by simply walking onto the floor and signing the discharge petition that

01:50Representative McBeth and Chairman Thompson, Representative Kelly, and so many others are

01:55leading on.

01:56A simple way for them to show their constituents, the Congress, the country, that they in fact

02:03care about saving lives, because we know that red flag laws will in fact, do in fact, save

02:10lives.

02:12These laws have often been passed on a bipartisan basis in a variety of different states across

02:17the country, again, including Colorado.

02:20This should not and cannot be a partisan issue because fundamentally, it is a public health

02:25issue.

02:26Evidenced, of course, by the Surgeon General's announcement just yesterday regarding the

02:30epidemic and scourge of gun violence impacting communities from Atlanta to Chicago to California

02:36to Colorado.

02:37So inaction is not an option, which is why you see, yet again, House Democrats stepping

02:42up to the plate, making the case to our colleagues to join us in good faith to protect our communities,

02:48and we'll keep doing that each and every day.

'Talk Is Cheap': Dem Urges House GOP To Vote On Red Flag Laws That Have Their 'Purported Support'

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