Congressman Gerry Connolly and 39 others are urging support of a nationwide gun buyback program in the wake of the school shooting in Connecticut.
Connolly and 39 others in congress signed their names to a letter sent to House Speaker John Boehner and Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi asking for their support for a buyback program.
The a press release from Connolly’s office below, supporters of the buyback program said it could take one million guns off of streets and help stimulate the economy:
“Gun buybacks have proven successful in communities across the nation,” Connolly and Deutch said in a “Dear Colleague” to House members. “Adding $200 million to the final compromise on the fiscal cliff could remove as many as 1 million guns from our streets.”
Noting that such programs are supported by law enforcement agencies as a valuable resource for reducing gun violence, the two congressmen said including the gun buyback program in any year-end deal “is a simple, immediate step we can take to assure the public we are committed to taking meaningful action.”
In their letter to the House leaders, Connolly and Deutch said federal financial support to help local communities and states conduct buyback programs could also bolster local economic activity. “Distributing funding to the States to run buyback programs using prepaid debit cards with a three-month expiration date could provide a jolt to local economies that have stagnated in the wake of the recession and concerns over the fiscal cliff.”
At Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., 20 children and six adults were shot and killed on Dec. 14 by 20-year-old Adam Lanza who then turned the gun on himself and committed suicide.
