Congressman Goldman Urges Republican Leadership to Join Democrats in Addressing Gun Violence Epidemic

In 2023, There Were 43,032 Deaths from Gun Violence, 657 Mass Shootings

House Republican Leadership Has Refused to Schedule Votes on a Single Piece of Bipartisan Gun Safety Legislation

View Calendar of Last Year’s Mass Shootings Here

Read the Letter Here

Washington, DC – Congressman Dan Goldman (NY-10) joined Congressman Mike Thompson (CA-04) and 121 House Democrats in sending a letter to Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (LA-04) and Majority Leader Steve Scalise (LA-01) urging the House Republican leadership to finally bring commonsense gun safety legislation to the House floor for a vote.

"It is unfathomable that House Republican leadership has thus far refused to take any action to address the gun violence epidemic, which is the leading cause of death for children and teenagers,” the lawmakers wrote.

The lawmakers, alongside their letter, included a calendar of all the mass shootings that took place in 2023. The calendar marks every single day that a mass shooting occurred, and also highlights days in 2023 that had four or more mass shootings. Despite the devastating reality of gun violence in the United States, Republican leadership has refused to allow a vote on any of the dozens of bipartisan gun safety bills.

“While there is bipartisan agreement that mental health is a serious public safety issue in our country, the gun homicide rate in the United States is 26 times that of other wealthy nations,” the lawmakers continued. “It is not credible to address the gun violence epidemic without working to prevent people who are a danger to themselves or others from accessing firearms.”

Congressman Dan Goldman has consistently called for House Republican Leadership to join Democrats in the fight against the gun violence epidemic.

In October, the Congressman joined with fellow leadership members of the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force to condemn the Republican failure to respond to the gun violence epidemic, as well as joining the Task Force in a letter urging Speaker Johnson to use his new authority to bring bipartisan, commonsense gun safety legislation to the floor for a vote.

Earlier this month, Congressman Goldman signed Congresswoman DeGette’s discharge petition, which would force the Republican House Leadership to allow a vote on the ‘Keep Americans Safe Act’ on the House floor. In the 118th Congress, House Republicans have not let a single piece of bipartisan gun safety legislation come to a vote.

Congressman Goldman is a Vice Chair of the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force and is Chair of the Dads Caucus Gun Violence Prevention Working Group.

Read the full letter here or below:

Dear Speaker Johnson and Majority Leader Scalise:

As you know, our country continues to face a daily epidemic of gun violence. 2023 was an incredibly dark year for gun violence with 43,032 Americans dying from gun violence.

Our communities were torn apart by 657 mass shootings and the gun violence epidemic annually costs our nation more than $557 billion.

As members of the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, we urge you to commit to allotting time this year to act on gun violence prevention legislation. Enclosed along with this letter is a calendar which highlights the 1-year anniversary of mass shootings from the previous year. Sadly, the calendar also notes the days marked by 4 or more mass shootings.

As members who advocate for action on gun violence prevention, we know that it is impossible to set aside a week that isn’t marked by a mass shooting, or a single day that wasn’t touched by preventable gun violence tragedies.

It is unfathomable that House Republican leadership has thus far refused to take any action to address the gun violence epidemic, which is the leading cause of death for children and teenagers.

While there is bipartisan agreement that mental health is a serious public safety issue in our country, the gun homicide rate in the United States is 26 times that of other wealthy nations. It is not credible to address the gun violence epidemic without working to prevent people who are a danger to themselves or others from accessing firearms.

We again ask you to work with Democrats on any policies to end the gun violence epidemic.

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