Barbara L'Italien On ERPO Passing Senate: "We're Taking A Stand - No More Parklands"
Jun 13, 2018 06:48AM ● By Theresa Gilman
State Senator Barbara L'Italien
(Editor's Note: the following information was provided by Barbara L'Italien for Congress.)
ANDOVER, MA — State senator and congressional candidate Barbara L'Italien (D-Andover) issued the following statement after she and her colleagues passed a bill establishing strong extreme risk protective orders in Massachusetts:
"Today, we're taking a stand in Massachusetts. We're saying loud and clear: no more Parklands. No more parents burying children we could have saved. No more asking why no one did anything before it was too late. No more abandoning folks when they need our help most. We're giving law enforcement the tools to stop shootings before they happen. This bill will save lives, and I urge Governor Baker to quickly sign it into law.
"Creating a red flag law in Massachusetts is just the beginning. We need extreme risk protective orders nationwide, so no one can get around common sense safeguards by driving 20 minutes to New Hampshire.
"I've been proud to fight the NRA and win on banning assault weapons, banning bump stocks and now establishing strong extreme risk protective orders. I'm looking forward to taking my mission for gun sense to Congress."
Barbara L'Italien alone among the candidates in the Third District race has a long record of passing common sense gun control - not merely supporting it. She's helped make Massachusetts a national model for reducing gun violence.
When the federal assault weapons ban expired in 2004, she voted as a state representative to preserve it in Massachusetts. When one of her constituents was killed in last year's Las Vegas shooting and Congress failed to step up, she helped push through a ban on bump stocks, trigger cranks, and similar accessories in the Commonwealth. She was a cosponsor of H.3610, An Act establishing extreme risk protective orders, even before the Parkland shooting.
With the state line just a quick trip away from her home, she understands that strong gun control laws in Massachusetts are just the start. She supports congressional efforts to encourage more states to adopt red flag laws and to allow federal courts to issue extreme risk protection orders, and is committed to moving them forward if she is elected. More background is available on her positions on gun control at her campaign website.
Town Hall politics Barbara L'Italien (D-Andover) gun control