WASHINGTON – Today Gun Violence Prevention Task Force Chairman Mike Thompson (CA-05) and Vice Chair Kathleen Rice (NY-04) submitted an Amicus Brief to the Supreme Court in support of New York’s “proper cause” concealed carry law, the New York state law that passed over 100 years ago in 1911 which established the standard for acquiring a concealed carry permit. They were joined by Speaker Nancy Pelosi and 129 Democrats in their brief to the court that cited the need for this law to help prevent g...
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WASHINGTON – U.S. Representatives Kathleen Rice (D-NY) and Ryan Costello (R-PA) today introduced new legislation to help prevent domestic abusers from buying guns by creating incentives for states to provide complete domestic violence records to federal background check databases, and by providing grant funding to help states improve their reporting processes. H.R. 4183, the Domestic Violence Records Reporting Improvement Act of 2017, encourages states to improve domestic violence records in the...
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WASHINGTON – U.S. Representative Kathleen Rice released the following statement today regarding the shooting last night in Las Vegas. Statement from Representative Kathleen Rice: “It’s hard to find the words to express how it feels to once again wake up to reports of the deadliest mass shooting in American history. It’s unlike anything we’ve ever seen before – as many as 58 people dead, more than 500 injured, several in critical condition. But at the same time, it feels like déjà vu. “Right now,...
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WASHINGTON – U.S. Representative Kathleen Rice (D-NY), a Vice Chair of the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, Rep. Mike Quigley (D-IL) and 35 fellow House Democrats yesterday called on House appropriators to close the loophole that allows suspected terrorists to purchase firearms and explosives. In a letter to Commerce, Justice, & Science Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman John Culberson and Ranking Member José Serrano and Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman John Cart...
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Click here to listen to this segment Barack Obama described the mass shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, back in December 2012, as the worst day of his presidency. Following the massacre, which claimed the lives of 20 children and six adults, the president pushed for sweeping changes to the nation’s gun control laws. Statistics show that gun crime is significantly higher in the United States than in other comparable countries. Ultimately, President Obama did no...
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By U.S. Rep. Kathleen Rice Just before noon on June 22, I finished a meeting in my office and turned on the TV to see the breaking news that would soon reach millions of people across the country: a group of my House Democratic colleagues, led by civil rights hero Rep. John Lewis, were staging a sit-in on the House floor, demanding a vote on legislation to help prevent gun violence in America. Ten days earlier, a man claiming allegiance to radical terrorists had carried out a horrific mass shoo...
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By Tom Brune WASHINGTON — Led by civil rights veteran Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), Long Island Reps. Kathleen Rice, Steve Israel and Gregory Meeks joined more than two dozen Democratic members of Congress to conduct a sit-in to demand a vote on gun legislation to address mass shootings. The unusual protest move by Democrats who occupied the well of the House floor brought the business of the day to a halt and prompted House Republican leaders to call a recess and cut off the video feed shown on the...
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By Mary Malloy, Barbara Rubin-Perry, Julie Mansmann and Anthony Rifilato As the shocking details of last Sunday’s mass shooting at a nightclub in Orlando, Fla., emerged this week, local police and community organizations ramped up security, and gathered for prayer. “We are appalled at the deaths of the innocent victims of the mass shooting in Orlando, and we’re keeping them and their loved ones in our prayers,” said Deacon Richard LaRossa, a pastoral associate at the Parish of St. Raymond’s Cat...
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By Scott Brinton The worst mass shooting in U.S. history, at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla., last Sunday, has the South Shore’s LGBT community reeling. The community, many within it say, has long been a target of violence. Gay nightclubs were supposed to be their safe havens. Now they wonder whether there’s anywhere to gather without fear of violence. That’s according to Pete Carney, director of Pride for Youth, a Bellmore-based nonprofit organization that serves the area’s youth lesbian, gay...
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By Christine Chung Gun violence is a national epidemic with no clear solution, but more controls need to be put in place, Rep. Kathleen Rice said at a Sunday event in Rockville Centre. Rice addressed a crowd of congregants at the Central Synagogue of Nassau County, discussing her thoughts on gun violence in America and the efforts she’s taking to combat it. “We cannot stand idly by and let the killing continue without trying to prevent it,” said Rice, a Democrat and first-term congresswoman fro...
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