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Health & Fitness

MA Legislature Public Safety Hearings

Massachusetts members of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America are making it a point to attend and/or testify at each of the five public hearings being held by the Massachusetts Legislature’s Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security. Two hearings have already taken place, on Cape Cod and in Worcester. The next three hearings are scheduled on July 23rd, Middleton, MA (time and place TBA), August 2nd, American International College, Springfield, MA (time TBA) and The State House, Boston, MA, September (date and time TBA). 

The following is an excerpt from one mom’s tesitmony:

“Good morning and thank you to the committee for the opportunity to testify today. I am here as member of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. We are a grass roots group of parents asking for common sense solutions to reduce gun violence.

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Until 6 months ago, I was just a mom, caring for my 3 kids at home. And then the Newtown massacre occurred. A few weeks later I was trying to pick up my kids from school, when I saw that police cars had barricaded the street in front. My heart started racing, and I pulled my car over to the side of the road. I thought, "Well, it's my turn now for my children to be shot", and I started to run towards the door. And then I saw that the police cars were there for a funeral procession, not for a crime scene. So this time I was spared. But I realized that shootings are now what I have come to expect. Newtown was the 31st school shooting since Columbine. And it was not the first mass shooting in 2012 - it was the 7th in that year alone. 

I can't sit back and wait until it is my turn, or it’s your turn.

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I know Massachusetts laws have been considered strong - in comparison to other states - but in our country more preschoolers are killed with guns each year than law enforcement officials, and now guns are the #2 cause of death in the nation for teenagers. A child is shot and killed every 3 hours in this country in a homicide, an accident, or a suicide. 

Every gun that kills a child first passes through the hands of an adult, and many of these adults are lawful gun owners. 

We must make it as difficult as possible for this to happen. Therefore, I ask that you include the one gun a month clause in new legislation, to reduce gun trafficking. I also ask that you give local police chiefs the greater discretion they are asking for when they issue FID cards. And I ask that you reduce magazine capacity to seven rounds. In the Newtown massacre, 11 children ran to safety when Adam Lanza finally reloaded. If this law saves one child's life, it will be worth it. 

Again I thank the committee. I am sure your job is not an easy one, and I'm grateful for your commitment to public service. I think you have an opportunity here to save lives, and that would be a tremendous gift to the people of Massachusetts.”

About Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America

Much like Mothers Against Drunk Driving was created to change laws regarding drunk driving, Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America (www.momsdemandaction.org) was created to build support for common-sense gun legislation. The nonpartisan grassroots movement of American mothers is demanding new and stronger solutions to lax gun laws and loopholes that jeopardize the safety of our children and families.

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