I support investing in proven community policing and crime diversion programs to keep our streets and homes safe. We can both invest in our local police forces and demand accountability from those we count on to protect our communities.
For far too long Black Americans have faced systemic racism and injustice. The murder of George Floyd and too many others at the hands of police, who we entrust to protect everyone in our communities, shed a painful light on the injustice, discrimination, and bias that marginalized groups face. These injustices brought new urgency to the need to reform policing in our country and address the ongoing culture that leads to racism in our communities.
I was an original cosponsor of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which will hold police accountable by addressing qualified immunity, bar chokeholds, create national law enforcement standards and improve transparency into police misconduct and use-of-force. This is one important step, but more needs to be done to address inequalities in other areas such as health care, economic opportunity, education and voting rights. Addressing these issues will not be solved by legislation alone. It is up to all of us to do our part and stand up and speak out so that we see long-term change.
We must also address the endemic gun violence in America so our families and community are safe. As a mother, I am sickened and outraged by the seemingly never-ending incidents of gun violence. While there is no one law or set of laws that will prevent every senseless shooting, we must do more to address this tragic cycle of gun violence. I serve on the Congressional Gun Violence Prevention Task Force and remain committed to finding sensible solutions to this problem. I support expanding background checks, banning the sale of semiautomatic assault weapons, and implementing extreme risk protection orders also known as red flag laws as the foundation of commonsense gun reforms.
