Yesterday, Rep. Pete Aguilar called on House Republicans to take action on commonsense reforms to keep guns out of the hands of suspected terrorists and expand background checks to cover all gun purchases, reprimanding his Republican colleagues for their continued inaction in the aftermath of the attacks in San Bernardino and Orlando.

“We cannot afford to stand in silence when people are being massacred in bars; when coworkers are being slaughtered at their holiday parties; when churchgoers are murdered in their place of worship; and when first graders are assassinated in classrooms,” said Aguilar. He continued, “Just hours ago we heard from Senator Murphy that the other chamber has reached a bipartisan agreement to allow votes on two important gun safety measures… When will this chamber do the same? When will we work to address meaningful solutions rather than acting on recycled bills from months ago that do little to address the issue? I’ve said before that House Republicans’ most significant action to curb gun violence has been to hold moments of silence, and I was wrong. They have consistently and deliberately worked to prevent commonsense reform from even being discussed in this chamber. For that – they should be ashamed.”

Rep. Aguilar has been a relentless voice for commonsense reform to end gun violence, supporting legislation to expand background checks, keep weapons out of the hands of suspected terrorists and to ban assault weapons. Prior to serving in Congress, Rep. Aguilar joined the Mayors Against Illegal Guns coalition when he was the Mayor of Redlands. Rep. Aguilar’s full remarks on the House floor can be viewed here.