Washington, D.C.- Today, Congressional Progressive Caucus Co-Chairs Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva (D-AZ) and Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI) issued a statement after thousands of students from across the country participated in a 17-minute school walk out to demand that Congress pass gun reform to improve school and community safety:
“Yesterday, thousands of students walked out of their schools to demand action on gun violence. Now Congress must answer their call to action. While we applaud the sudden willingness of Republicans to invest in our schools through passage of the Students, Teachers, and Officers Preventing (STOP) School Violence Act, this bill is far from a silver bullet solution to the gun violence epidemic plaguing this nation.
“Congress must take real action to enact laws to keep children safe, including universal background checks, reinstating the ban on assault weapons, banning high capacity magazines, and prohibiting extreme-risk individuals from obtaining guns. While securing our schools is necessary, militarizing them through alarming proposals such as arming teachers will only worsen this crisis.
“We stand with these young people demanding action. These students display a level of courage lacking among our Republican colleagues. It is time for congressional Republicans to stop listening to NRA lobbyists and start listening to these brave students, who refuse to learn in fear.”
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The Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) is the largest caucus within the House Democratic Caucus, with over 70 members standing up for progressive ideals in Washington and throughout the country. Since 1991, the CPC has advocated for progressive policies that prioritize working Americans over corporate interests, fight economic and social inequality, and promote civil liberties. The CPC champions progressive policy solutions like comprehensive immigration reform, a $15 national minimum wage, fair trade, gun violence reform, debt-free college, and making the federal government a Model Employer.
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