Today, in a letter to House Speaker Paul Ryan, Representative Pete Aguilar urged the Speaker to withhold adjournment of the House of Representatives for the August recess until votes are allowed on two bipartisan bills that address the gun violence epidemic. The bills in question – Denying Firearms and Explosives to Dangerous Terrorists Act and the Public Safety and Second Amendment Rights Protection Act – are bipartisan measures that would prevent suspected terrorists from accessing guns or explosives and would expand background checks to keep guns out of the hands of domestic abusers, criminals and the dangerously mentally ill.

“While we may disagree on the approach, we share a desire to stop the violence plaguing so many of our cities, and we want our communities to be safe for our children. We cannot refuse to take action; we have a moral obligation to our constituents and to our country to at least try to do something to reduce gun deaths,” Rep. Aguilar wrote. He added, “I believe we can uphold the Second Amendment and make our neighborhoods safer – these two objectives are not mutually exclusive… I request that you withhold adjourning session for the August recess until votes are allowed on these two bipartisan bills so we can do our part in addressing the gun violence epidemic. ”

Yesterday, Rep. Aguilar spoke on the House floor to urge Speaker Ryan to allow votes on the bills before adjourning for the August recess. Rep. Aguilar has been a relentless advocate for commonsense solutions to end gun violence. His letter to Speaker Ryan can be read here.