Issue Position: Preventing Gun Violence

Issue Position

"I believe if we come together with Aloha in our hearts, we can find common sense solutions that reduce or even eliminate our country's most tragic acts of gun violence." -- Stanley Chang

As an elected official, one of our most important duties is to uphold current laws and protect our citizens. I support the Second Amendment and believe it guarantees an individual's right to bear arms. But I also believe Americans have the right to live in safety, free from fear.

As a country we need to find a reasonable balance between these sometimes conflicting rights. I believe we need reasonable limits so we can prevent dangerous people from obtaining guns and committing horrifying acts of violence, such as the Sandy Hook shooting.

Last November, I introduced Resolution 13-280. This resolution calls on the U.S. Congress to take action on gun violence by implementing President Obama's "Now is the Time" plan. We must get to work today to pass common-sense measures to reduce gun violence -- measures I fully support, such as:

Mandatory background checks on all gun purchases, period;
Closing background check loopholes which currently allow guns to fall into unsafe hands;
Banning military-style assault rifles;
Limiting ammunition magazines to ten rounds; and
Increasing access to quality mental health services, with a particular focus on young people.
I believe we need to get armor-piercing bullets off our streets. We need to give law enforcement the additional tools they need to prevent gun crime and to prosecute it. Like the President, I believe now is the time to get serious about reducing gun violence.

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