Congressman Blake Moore's Statement on the Senate Gun Legislation
WASHINGTON -- Today, Congressman Blake Moore issued the following statement on his vote on the Senate gun legislation:
"When I ran for Congress, I made a commitment to the people of Utah’s First Congressional District that I would not vote for any bills that could affect their Second Amendment rights without fully vetting it with them. Since I have been in office, I have heard from thousands of constituents across the district expressing their unequivocal support for the Second Amendment and our due process rights, as well as support for mental health services and school security.
Two days ago, negotiators in the Senate reached a consensus on a package intended to reduce violence. I applaud those who came to the table to negotiate a hard-won deal. However, on the House side, there were no opportunities for collaboration and the bill did not go through the committee process. I simply do not feel confident voting for it without fully discussing the consequences of provisions such as section 12003 that could allow states to use federal funds to implement red flag laws without the specific assurance of full due process protections.
But let me be clear: my vote today is not a blanket disapproval of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. Far from it. I support many of its provisions, such as improving NICS to include disqualifying juvenile records, investing in mental health resources for Medicaid and CHIP recipients, expanding mental health programs in our schools, ramping up criminal penalties and tools to investigate firearms traffickers, funding and training for law enforcement agencies, supporting enrichment programs for low-income students, funding school safety programs including school resource officers and school hardening, improving treatment and services for youth who have experienced trauma, and more. This legislation relies on state and local officials, mental health professionals, schools, law enforcement, and community organizations to invest in the services that work best to prevent violence and improve mental health and crisis intervention in their communities.
These provisions--coupled with the groundbreaking investments in mental health resources passed this week by the House of Representatives--will move the needle on decreasing violence and increasing access to necessary resources. But the work does not end here. As I have said before, the answer to violence will not be found in legislation passed by the federal government. We cannot delegate the responsibility of responding to despair and mediating distrust and division in our communities. Elected officials, community leaders, churches, and families all have a role in coming together to rebuild our sense of goodwill and repair the bonds that have frayed between us, and the resources provided for these efforts is a welcome investment in the unity of our nation."