Rep. Cleaver Votes for Bipartisan Bill to Implement Active Shooter Alert System

Press Release

Last night, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 6538, the Active Shooter Alert Act, to create a program similar to the AMBER Alert system so that law enforcement can immediately alert the public to active shooters in the community. U.S. Representative Emanuel Cleaver, II (D-MO) supported the bipartisan bill, which will now go to the U.S. Senate for a vote.

"With active shooter incidents becoming more prevalent in the United States, due to increasingly lax gun safety laws in states across the country, it is imperative that Congress give law enforcement additional tools to protect communities from mass shootings," said Congressman Cleaver. "As my fellow Democrats and I seek to build on the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act and continue to push the Senate take up proposals recently passed by the House of Representatives, such as the implementation of universal background checks, raising the purchasing age of AR-15s to twenty-one, and enacting a federal red flag law, it's important to take action where possible. The AMBER Alert system has proven effective at immediately notifying the public of a missing person, and the same type of system can be used to instantly alert the public when a shooter is at-large. Even a small step in the right direction is still progress, and I will continue to proudly support proposals like the life-saving Active Shooter Alert Act--because even one life saved is worth it."

With active shooter incidents putting a larger strain on law enforcement officers, one of the many challenges expressed by law enforcement and independent review commissions investigating active shooter incidents is preventing additional victims from unknowingly walking into the line of fire. The Active Shooter Alert Act would help to address these concerns by:

Establishing an Active Shooter Alert Coordinator within the Department of Justice. The Coordinator would work with subject matter experts to develop best practices for local and state law enforcement to effectively improve or implement active shooter alert systems
Enabling the usage of the federal Integrated Public Alert & Warning System (IPAWS) to send out active shooter alerts.
Making the Active Shooter Alert program available for local law enforcement to utilize on a voluntary basis to improve their local system of letting civilians know to stay away and stay safe. Resources provided to state and local law enforcement would include:
Guidance developed by subject matter experts with the advice of an advisory panel, such as recommendations on making alerts in the vicinity of a shooter silent so the shooter is not alerted to those sheltered in place.
Advice on what information is most effective to include in public alerts and how alerts should be sent.

The Active Shooter Alert Act has strong support from law enforcement organizations and has been endorsed by the National Sheriff's Association, Major Cities Chiefs Association, National Association of Police Organizations, Fraternal Order of Police, National Police Foundation, National District Attorneys Association, and numerous other local and state law enforcement agencies.

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