Everytown Statement on Las Vegas Shooting and SHARE Act That Would Gut Silencer Safety Laws
10.2.2017
Shooting is at Least 8th Mass Shooting in 2017 – and at Least the 162nd Since 2009; Everytown Research (And Visuals) on Gun Violence by the Numbers Available Here
Some in Congress Pushing to Vote as Early as This Week on the SHARE Act, Which Includes the So-Called “Hearing Protection Act” That Would Gut Silencer Safety Laws
NEW YORK – Everytown for Gun Safety released the following statement today on the Sportsmen’s Heritage and Recreation Act, or SHARE Act, that would gut silencer safety laws, amid news reports that more than 50 people were killed and more than 500 hospitalized after a shooting at a concert on the Las Vegas Strip. This is the 8th mass shooting, in which four or more people were shot and killed, so far this year, and the 162nd mass shooting since 2009. The shooting early this morning in Las Vegas is the largest mass shooting in modern American history. Everytown’s research and analysis of mass shootings is available here.
In Congress, some members were pushing to vote as early as this week on the SHARE Act. The SHARE Act includes the so-called “Hearing Protection Act,” which would gut silencer safety laws and make it easy for anyone to buy a silencer without a background check. The bill, which is opposed by many in the law enforcement community, would profit gun manufacturers, at the expense of public safety.
STATEMENT FROM JOHN FEINBLATT, PRESIDENT OF EVERYTOWN FOR GUN SAFETY:
“Do we want to live in a country where we accept the dangerous vision being peddled by the gun lobby, which just this week is pushing a policy that would make it easy for convicted felons and domestic abusers to buy gun silencers without a background check? During last night’s horrific shooting, people fled when they heard gun shots. Instead of pushing to vote on legislation that would gut silencer safety laws and put more lives at risk, our leaders should finally come together around common-sense gun laws that will keep people safe.”
The SHARE Act would gut long-standing safety laws designed to keep silencers out of the wrong hands. Specifically, it would remove silencers from the National Firearms Act, making it easy for convicted felons, domestic abusers and people with dangerous mental illnesses to buy silencers without passing a background check – simply by finding an unlicensed seller.
Read about the silencer provision of the SHARE Act here.