In light of the recent shootings at The University of North Carolina Charlotte, and a synagogue in Poway, California, Senator Cory Booker proposes a 14 part plan to combat the gun violence epidemic in America.
What We Know:
- The reasoning for Sen. Booker’s plan goes far beyond these past two shootings, and the need for it increases everyday. According to a study done by everytownresearch.org, the U.S. gun homicide rate is 25 times higher than that of other high income countries. The primary reason this number is so high is because firearms are fairly easy to access in America.
- Many are opposed to stricter gun laws and stake claim to their 2nd amendment rights which is the right to bear arms. Many politicians that are proponents to stricter gun laws are beginning to make clear distinctions between wanting to separate gun lovers from their guns and creating restrictions to keep them out of the hands of dangerous criminals.
- The main goal of Sen. Booker’s plan is to make it harder to access guns by enforcing a gun licensing program. Through this program, those seeking to buy a gun would have to apply for a license. The process would include submitting fingerprints, undergoing a background check, a formal interview, and completing a certified gun safety course.
- Another goal of this plan is to limit bulk purchasing of firearms, as well as making it hard for domestic abusers and those on terrorist watch list to obtain guns. Nearly one million women alive today have been shot, or shot at by an intimate partner, according to everytownresearch.org, access to a gun in a domestic violence situation makes it five times more likely that a woman will be killed.
Sen. Booker’s personal experience with gun violence is one of the main reasons he’s decided to put so much effort into this fight, during an interview with The New York Times he said, “I’m going to come at this like folks have never seen before.”
