WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Jack Reed today released the following statement reacting to President Obama’s decision to move forward with executive actions to address the growing epidemic of gun violence in the United States:

“President Obama makes a compelling case for smarter gun control measures and is using his executive authority to try to curb gun violence.  However, executive action is no substitute for Congress actually doing its job, coming together, and passing sensible legislation to strengthen background checks.

“As we saw after Sandy Hook, executive action alone is not enough.  Gun deaths are now as common as traffic deaths in the United States, yet at every turn the Republican-led Congress has abdicated responsibility to address this crisis in any meaningful way, forcing the President to once again act alone.

“The level of gun violence we are seeing today is unacceptable.  Despite what the gun lobby may claim, it is not somehow beyond intervention.  There are steps we can take.

“Congress has a responsibility to keep the American people safe and that means working together to enact sensible, durable reforms to strengthen background checks, close the gun show and private seller loopholes, and reduce gun violence.”

Senator Reed has also called for new federal gun safety laws aimed at making current background checks stronger, closing loopholes to prevent unsuitable persons from acquiring firearms, and shutting down the pipeline of illegal guns.  Not a single month in 2015 was free from a mass shooting, according to the National Gun Violence Archive.

-end-