Perlmutter: 'Silence is no longer an option' - #lakewoodnews

Congressman Ed Perlmutter in a telephone town hall meeting last week encouraged his constituents to speak out again gun violence.

The telephone town hall meeting was part of the National Day of Action for Commonsense Gun Violence Protection, and came just a week or so after Perlmutter participated in the historic "sit-in" filibuster with dozens of other Democratic members of the House of Representatives in Washington, D.C. The sit-in was staged to force a vote on pending gun reform measures.

Joining Perlmutter on the call last week were two family members who had lost loved ones in mass shootings. Tom Mauser lost his son, Daniel Mauser, in the shooting at Columbine High School April 20, 1999; Lakewood Police Officer Dave Hoover lost his nephew, A.J. Boik, during the Aurora Theater shooting July 20, 2012.

"After having felt these tragedies so close to home and in such a personal way, it is time to take action. Silence is no longer an option," Perlmutter said. "It shouldn't take members of Congress holding a protest to get a vote on common sense gun violence prevention measures that are supported by the majority of the American people."

Hoover said it is the responsibility of lawmakers to do more than offer condolences or empty promises.

"Our family, and all of those families who have lost loved ones to senseless acts of gun violence, deserve better than this," Hoover said. "We all deserve to know our elected officials are trying to do the right thing and not walking away from these tragic events asking for a moment of silence, or saying `It's such a shame,' and `I wish we could have done something.'"

"I am grateful for the legislators who are supporting common sense gun laws and I applaud them for taking a stand for what is right," he added.

Mauser, too, urged against complacency.

"Despite the tragedy I've faced, I continue to be optimistic and hopeful about what we can reasonably do in this country to reduce the terrible toll of gun violence," Mauser said. "We can't simply continue with `business as usual.' That option is too deadly."

The National Day of Action came after House Democrats demonstrated with a sit-in "protest" for 26 hours on the House Floor, demanding that House Speaker Paul Ryan and House Republicans allow an immediate vote on what they said were bipartisan, commonsense gun violence prevention legislation to help keep guns out of dangerous hands.

The two bills included:

Bipartisan legislation to expand and strengthen the background check system; and

The bipartisan "No Fly, No Buy" bill to keep guns out of the hands of suspected terrorists. To date, House Republicans have voted 14 times to block consideration of the bill, according to Perlmutter.

"As lawmakers, we have a responsibility to ensure our constituent's voices are heard and pass responsible gun violence prevention laws that respect the Second Amendment but still protect our communities," Perlmutter said.

As part of the National Day of Action, House Democrats, families, and advocates are held dozens of events nationwide to demand immediate action from Congress.

from Lakewood Sentinel - Latest Stories http://lakewoodsentinel.com/stories/Perlmutter-Silence-is-no-longer-an-option,223245