Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and comedian Amy Schumer, who are cousins, have partnered to create a new push for more sensible gun control laws, reported CBS News.
Amy delivered an emotional speech with her cousin, Chuck, by her side to lament the events in Lafayette, Louisiana, where a crazed gunman shot eleven people, killing two, at the Grand 16 movie theater. Amy Schumer became invested in the tragedy when news broke that the shooting took place during a screening of her movie, Trainwreck. “I’ve thought about these victims each day since the tragedy,” said Amy, who now takes gun control personally.
“We’re here to say enough is enough,” said Sen. Schumer. “We can’t just sit back and allow mass shootings to become commonplace. . . How many breaking news flashes will it take for Congress to act?” In response to the mass shooting in Lafayette, Sen. Schumer introduced a “three-pronged plan” intended to curb gun violence.
The first part includes a system where the 50 states share information about felons, spousal abusers, and adjudicated mentally ill with the federal government to include in national background checks. The second part calls for the Justice Department to survey the states’ standards for involuntary commitment for the mentally ill. Lastly, Amy and Chuck called on Congress to fully fund mental health and substance abuse programs in order to curb the odds of such tragedies from happening in the future.
“The time is now for [the] American people to rally for these changes,” said Amy in closing. “These are my first public comments on the issue of gun violence, but I can promise you they will not be my last.”
