WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.) joined Senate Democrats Thursday in unveiling a set of principles to prevent gun violence and launching a major effort to ramp up public pressure on Congress to pass new laws to stop gun violence.

“Today, I stood with Senate Democrats and called for Congress to finally take commonsense measures to end the plague of gun violence in America. The legislative principles we unveiled strengthen current background checks, close dangerous loopholes, and help turn off the flow of illegal guns. These proposals are supported by an overwhelming majority of Americans. From my hometown of Baltimore, to the many towns across America that have had their names in the headlines because of gun-related tragedies or mass shootings, people are calling on Congress to act. Sitting on the sidelines is not an option and surrendering to the false logic that the problem is too big to address falls well short of what the American people deserve. 

“What we are proposing are logical next steps to address a deadly problem that has been festering in this country for too long. There is more that we can and should be doing. None of the legislative principles being consideration are attempts to restrict law abiding gun owners. I’ve heard the call for congressional action for years now and I’ve been ready to act. Republicans have heard the calls too. I hope that they finally will be willing to work with Democrats to get this done.”

###