CULPEPER STAR-EXPONENT

A former federal law enforcement officer running for governor of Virginia, U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-7th, is again calling out gun violence in America.

During National Gun Violence Awareness Month, the local congresswoman, a member of the U.S. House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, urged Speaker Mike Johnson to bring legislation to the floor to address the epidemic.

In an average year, 1,121 Virginians die by guns and 1,911 are wounded, according to a release from her office. Spanberger on Friday called for expanded background checks and a reinstatement on the ban of military-style weapons.

“We know far too well the horrors of gun violence that impact our communities. From our universities to our Walmarts to our playgrounds to our walking paths to our elementary schools, people across our Commonwealth and the rest of the country have been impacted by acts of gun violence that forever change lives,” she said in a speech on the House floor.

“I’m a former federal agent. I used to carry a gun every single day — I know what it is to be a responsible gun owner. And I also know that background checks are proven to help law enforcement keep guns out of the hands of those who pose a danger to themselves and others — and we must ensure that we have background checks on all firearms purchases.

And I know that Congress must reinstate a ban on the manufacturing, sale and transfer of military-style weapons and high-capacity magazines. And I urge Speaker Johnson to bring these measures forward.”

Also on June 14, Spanberger commented on the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Garland v. Cargill to strike down a Trump-era ban on bump stocks. The gun attachments, used in the 2017 Las Vegas shooting that killed 58 people, allow semi-automatic weapons to fire rapidly, like machine guns, 400-800 rounds per minute.

It was the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history, said Spanberger, as a gunman swiftly injured another 800 more using a semiautomatic rifle modified with a bump stock.

“In response to this tragedy and the undeniable need to rid our streets of the device that enabled such a horrific massacre, the Trump Administration banned bump stocks with broad bipartisan support. Today, the U.S. Supreme Court ended this years-long ban, putting countless American lives at risk in a decision that will inevitably result in more gun deaths,” she said in a statement Friday.

Spanberger asked Johnson to introduce legislation codifying a ban on bump stocks for civilian use under federal law.

Meanwhile, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, D-Virginia, on Monday, announced his co-sponsorship of two pieces of legislation to ban bump stocks.