WASHINGTON, D.C. October 12, 2017 -- Pride Fund to End Gun Violence – America’s only national LGBTQ political organization focused solely on gun violence prevention – announced today its support of Rep. Elizabeth H. Esty’s newly introduced bill, “Keep Americans Safe Act.” Rep. Esty introduces this bill to ban large capacity magazines in the wake of the Las Vegas shooting, the deadliest mass shooting in United States history.
Today, Pride Fund Executive Director Jason Lindsay joins Congresswoman Esty at a press conference at the Capitol as she introduces the legislation and will provide brief remarks about why this bill is so critical to saving American lives.
“Pride Fund commends Congresswoman Esty for her steadfast leadership in the fight for commonsense gun reform. Pride Fund supports this bill with the utmost enthusiasm,” said Jason Lindsay, Pride Fund Executive Director. “As the representative of Newtown, Connecticut, where 20 students and 6 adults were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012, Congresswoman Esty is all too familiar with the deadly nature of large capacity magazines and the danger posed to the public when these devices fall into the wrong hands. As an Iraq War veteran, I fully believe that large capacity magazines have no place on American streets. We wholeheartedly support Congresswoman Esty’s ‘Keep Americans Safe Act’ and stand shoulder to shoulder with her in this fight on behalf of the American people.”
Congresswoman Esty reintroduced her previous bill, the “Large Capacity Ammunition Feeding Device Act” under a new name, “Keep Americans Safe Act.” This bill comes just days after the Las Vegas shooting, where 59 people were killed and 527 others were injured by weapons equipped with large capacity magazines. Large capacity magazines were used in all six of the deadliest mass shootings in U.S. history, including Las Vegas. When these devices are involved in a mass shooting, it results in more people shot when compared to incidents where large capacity magazines were not used. In Sandy Hook Elementary School in December, 2012, Adam Lanza used large capacity magazines with the ability to hold 30 rounds to take the lives of 20 students and six adults. Eleven students escaped while Lanza reloaded his gun.
Congresswoman Esty was an original cosponsor of legislation to close the gun show and online sale loopholes in previous Congresses. Esty also signed onto legislation including federal and state convictions of hate, bias-motivated, or domestic violence-related crimes, whether a felony or misdemeanor, in the list of convictions that would bar an individual from purchasing or owning a firearm, and cosponsors many other common sense gun reforms.
Pride Fund to End Gun Violence commends the Congresswoman for reintroducing this bill into this Congress, and we intend to fight tooth-and-nail to see it signed into law.
Bill Summary:
Keep Americans Safe Act will ban the transfer, possession, or importation of a large capacity ammunition feeding device. This includes any magazine, belt, drum, feed strip, or similar device that would allow a firearm to accept more than 10 rounds of ammunition. This bill does not apply to magazines or devices lawfully processed in the United States at the time of enactment. Furthermore, this bill does not apply to law enforcement officers in their official capacities, or retired law enforcement officers who are not otherwise prohibited from receiving ammunition.