The first obligation of government is to keep people safe where they live, work, and play.
I’ve said that many times over the years.
Today I extended that obligation to include “the school that their children attend.”
I spoke at a press conference about legislation that will be introduced in Annapolis next month in response to the tragedy at Newtown.
I will be introducing one of those bills.
Two years ago, in response to the shooting of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, Delegate Luiz Simmons and I introduced a bill to create a task force to study access to regulated firearms by individuals with mental illness.
That group will issue its report in the next two weeks.
In 2010, I introduced legislation to prevent “straw man” purchases, which allow handguns to end up in the hands of persons who are legally prohibited from possessing those weapons. It would have required purchase permits to obtain a firearm.
“Bagel Brain Jews Want Your Bullets and Your Guns,” read the headline on a flier distributed in response to the legislation, which Senator Brian Frosh also introduced.
When I spoke today, I said that we should have a rational discussion about guns, respecting the views of all parties.
