Honda Leads Congressional Letter in Support of Presidential Gun Violence Initiatives

Press Release

Today, U.S. Rep. Mike Honda (D-Silicon Valley, Calif.) and more than four dozen of his House colleagues sent a letter, in support for funding for President Obama's executive actions to combat gun violence in the United States.

Funding the executive actions would allow:

More access to mental health access to curb a majority of gun deaths, which result from suicide attempts;
200 added Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) special agents and investigators, for enforcement of current gun laws;
230 added Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) examiners and staff to process background checks;
Enhancing the National Integrated Ballistics Information network, to track ballistic crime evidence; and
Improving the National Instant Background Check system, to better notify local law enforcement when prohibited persons attempt to buy a firearm.

"These are commonsense improvements that increase our ability to enforce the laws we have on the books, while we protect American families," said Honda. "Not one of these executive actions would stop Americans from legally buying and bearing firearms. Not one of these executive actions would stop a hunter, or a skeet shooter or a father teaching his son to shoot a .22. Every single one of these actions would save lives."

The letter, to members of the Appropriations Committee, calls for "programmatic requests" that would fully fund each of the President's actions. It was signed by Honda along with Reps. Robin L. Kelly, Gregory Meeks, Gwen Moore, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Elizabeth Esty, Earl Blumenauer, Yvette D. Clarke, Julia Brownly, Mike Thompson, Mike Doyle, Bobby L. Rush, Katherine Clark, Kathy Castor, Donald S. Beyer Jr., Stacey E. Placket, Charles B. Rangel, Steve Cohen, Ed Perlmutter, Eric Swalwell, Sheila Jackson Lee, David N. Cicilline, Ted Lieu, John Lewis, Pete Aguilar, Grace F. Napolitano, Jackie Speier, Mark DeSaulnier, Raúl M. Grijalva, Elijah E. Cummings, Anna Eshoo, Diana DeGette, Hakeem S. Jeffries, Danny K. Davis, Ruben Gallego, William R. Keating, Brenda L. Lawrence, Frederica S. Wilson, Alma S. Adams, Albio Sires, Mike Quigley, Carolyn B. Maloney, Robert C. "Bobby" Scott, Cedric L. Richmond, Lois Frankel , Sean Patrick Maloney, Jan Schakowsky, John Lewis, Dan Kildee, Kathleen Rice, and Barbara Lee.

Honda has been a long-time advocate for effective, impactful actions to cut down on gun violence, since his time as a Santa Clara County Supervisor. In 2015, he introduced the Gun Violence Research Act to develop a more comprehensive understanding of the causes of gun violence, helping identify and treat those prone to committing mass shootings, preventing mass shootings.