Just a few hours after a lobby visit at Senator Leahy’s Burlington office, his staffer sent me the headlining news, “Leahy, Pascrell, King Introduce Crime Gun Tracing Modernization Act.” This bipartisan act, introduced by U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and U.S. Reps. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ) and Peter King (R-NY), will give the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms the ability to electronically search for the records of guns used in crimes across the country.
I am an Advocacy Corps member with the Friends Committee on National Legislation, lobbying for common sense gun violence protection in Vermont, and Senate Bill S.42 Universal Background Checks. The Crime Gun Tracing Modernization Act is a move in the right direction for the gun violence prevention movement, but now I urge Senator Leahy, Senator Sanders and their cohort in the Senate to move Universal Background Checks to a vote. The introduction of the Crime Gun Tracing Modernization Act proves that gun violence is bipartisan issue and I cannot emphasize enough how important cross-party collaboration is in the passing of these common sense gun violence prevention measures.
Thank you to Senator Leahy and Representatives Bill Pascrell, Jr., and Peter King, but the work is not done. Please continue to reach across the aisle and strive to make our communities more safe and keep the momentum for gun violence prevention strong.
With any questions or interest in lobbying in Vermont, please contact me at [email protected].
Olivia Bravo
Middlebury