FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Wednesday, 12 June 2013
CONTACT:
Brett Abrams : 516-841-1105 : brett@fitzgibbonmedia.com
Statement from Rick Jacobs, founder and chair of the California-based CourageCampaign.org on the tragic Santa Monica shooting and the need for the LIFE Act, a package of California legislation that would provide the smartest, safest gun laws in the nation:
“The tragic shooting in Santa Monica might never have occurred if the seven bills making up the Lifesaving Intelligent Firearms Enforcement (LIFE) Act were now law.
According to media reports, the gunman had over 1,300 rounds of ammunition. If SB 53 (de Leon) requiring background checks for ammunition purchases were law, the shooter’s accumulation of such a large cache of ammunitions would have triggered red flags. The shooter also used an assault weapon. While California has an assault weapons ban, SB 374 (Steinberg) and 47 (Yee) would close glaring loopholes that allow assault weapons with minor modifications to be sold.
Reports also indicate that the shooter had had approximately 40 magazines capable of holding 30 bullets. While the sale of high-capacity magazines is banned in California, the possession is not. Such magazines can also be built using “magazine repair kits.” SB 396 would ban the possession of high-capacity magazines.
California has a long history of pioneering legislation to protect its people. The LIFE Act does just that. It has passed the California Senate and is now under consideration in the Assembly. We must not rest until we have done all we can to make these horrific crimes as difficult to carry out as possible and that starts with the LIFE Act.”
For more information, or for interviews, please contact Brett Abrams at 516-841-1105 or by email at brett@fitzgibbonmedia.com.
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CourageCampaign.org is an online organizing network that empowers more than 750,000 grassroots and netroots activists to push for progressive change and full equality in California and across the country. As a leading multi-issue advocacy organization, Courage Campaign’s work is supported by thousands of small donations from our diverse community.