Rep. Jim McGovern said it’s time for Congress to take real steps to combat gun violence in America, following a shooting in a Texas church Sunday that killed 26 people.
“We have to do something other than just have moments of silence and say a prayer,” McGovern told Boston Public Radio Wednesday. “That’s all we do here in this Congress.”
Senate Democrats introduced a major gun control bill Wednesday that would ban assault weapons and ammunition.
“We do have to address the issue of guns, and, you know, things are out of control,” McGovern said. “We’re having massacres on a regular basis, and that’s not even counting the people who are killed in gun violence on an individual basis every single day.”
McGovern called for universal background checks online and at gun shows, in addition to licensed gun dealers, and a national ban of “bump stocks,” the gun conversion tool used in a shooting in early October in Las Vegas that killed 58 people and injured hundreds.
“There are some issues that we just have to confront,” McGovern said. “Our children are being killed, our families are being killed. I mean, innocent people are being killed every day, and there has to be a balance out there.”
To hear Boston Public Radio's full interview with Rep. McGovern, click on the audio player above.
