Yesterday, U.S. Congressman Scott Peters (CA-52) voted for the STOP School Violence Act, which reauthorizes the Secure Our Schools grant program to provide training for school personnel on preventing violence and technical assistance to develop threat assessment and procedures to anonymously report emergencies. The bill does not allow for taxpayers dollars to be spent on training teachers to handle firearms or for the purchase of firearms.

Peters continues to be a vocal leader for congressional action to curb the terrible gun violence epidemic in the United States. Peters supports the Assault Weapons Ban of 2018, which would prohibit the sale, transfer, manufacture, and importation of assault-style weapons. As a member of the Congressional Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, he has also cosponsored bills to improve our background check system, ban the sale of high capacity magazines, and ban individuals on the terror watch list from being able to buy guns. 

“Finally, Congress is taking an important step toward addressing the gun violence epidemic in schools,” said Rep. Peters. “This will help schools prepare for an emergency, but we cannot stop here. We still need commonsense, bipartisan gun safety measures. San Diegans and Americans all over the country are demanding Congress hear their voice and act. There is so much more we can do to prevent these horrific tragedies and it pains me that Republican leadership refuses to let us vote on these bills.”

A recent Quinnipiac poll shows that 97 percent of gun owners support reforming our nation’s background check system, 67 percent of American voters support a nationwide ban on the sale of assault weapons, and 66 percent of American supports want stricter gun laws.

Peters continued, “It’s time to make our background check system work better; to take to take weapons of war out of our schools and off our streets; and for Congress to come together and do the right thing. I will continue to raise the volume on this issue until I believe Congress has done its job.”