Gun violence in America is a problem that cannot be ignored. Year after year, decade after decade, we experience the constant trauma of gun violence. In our neighborhoods, in grocery stores, in movie theaters, in concerts, in schools. 

Gun violence this year has been particularly painful. The killing of 10 innocent civilians grocery shopping in Buffalo was a harsh reminder of the ways guns can be tools of racism and domestic terrorism. The killing of 19 young children and two teachers in Uvalde rocked parents across the nation to their cores, and has to be a call to action that we cannot accept the status quo on gun measures.  

As all of these horrors continue to unfold throughout the country, in Louisiana, a mere day after the tragedy in Texas, lawmakers held a hearing for House Bill 37 which would allow for concealed carry in the state without a permit. Texas passed a similar measure in September and has seen 19 mass shootings so far this year per the Gun Violence Archive.

In spite of all of the death and destruction around us, we still fail to pass the common sense gun reforms needed to protect ourselves and our children.

Gary is a gun owner who supports the 2nd Amendment right to bear arms. But he is also a parent, a son, a grocery store shopper, a movie goer, a concert attender, and so many more things, who knows we need gun control reform.

Gary is committed to passing common sense gun control policies to protect our children and our communities in Louisiana and across the country. 

1. Gary would work to enact background checks on all gun sales.

As federal law currently stands, while licensed gun dealers are required to conduct background checks, numerous unlicensed dealers are not held to the same standards, providing loopholes that give access to guns to abusers and people with troubling histories.

2. Gary would support legislation to create federal waiting periods for the purchase of guns.

Waiting period laws ensure that individuals who are purchasing guns have to wait for a reasonable period of time to receive their firearm. These laws provide individuals going through crises when purchasing their weapons a moment to cool off and possibly decide against any drastic plans they may have had for their gun. 

3. Gary would support bans of the sale of military-grade weapons.

The only purpose of a military-grade assault weapon is to harm other humans. You cannot use an assault weapon for hunting. According to Everytown research: “In the 12 years from 2009 to 2020, there were at least 30 mass shootings (16 percent of those with known weapon data) that involved the use of an assault weapon, resulting in 347 deaths and 719 injuries. In other words, mass shootings that involved an assault weapon accounted for 25 percent of all mass shootings deaths and 76 percent of injuries.” We need to get these weapons out of the hands of those who would perpetrate these crimes. Both the shooter in Buffalo and the shooter in Uvalde used assault weapons.