The time for thoughts and prayers has long passed. Now is the time for action.
We have heard the cries for action from the students in Parkland, Fla., who witnessed their
friends and teachers mercilessly gunned down in their hallways and classrooms.
We have heard the cries for action from survivors of the brutal Las Vegas shooting in
October. We have heard the cries from the families of the young children and teachers
murdered at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. We have heard the cries for action from the survivors of Columbine.
And yet, here we are once again, hearing cries for action.
State Sen. Vin Gopal is working to finally answer those cries for action with his newest bill
package. The package includes a bill that creates a process for family members, law
enforcement or teachers to petition a court to have someone’s firearms temporarily
seized after it has been determined the person poses a significant danger of causing
injury to themselves or others; a bill that requires the safe storage of firearms; and a bill that prohibits an individual who has been convicted of animal cruelty from possessing or
purchasing a firearm.
These common sense firearms regulations are certainly not the ultimate answer to the
shocking number of mass shootings this country witnesses each year. However, in
removing weapons from individuals who have a proven history of violence and ensuring
responsible gun owners safely store their firearms, we would be reducing the number of
weapons available to those most likely to carry out a violent attack.
There is no sensible reason for an individual who poses a threat to themselves or others
to possess a firearm. There is no sensible reason for a firearm, in the hands of a
responsible gun owner, to be left out, unsecured. There is no sensible reason for a
person convicted of animal cruelty to possess a firearm.
It is time we embrace sensible gun regulations and finally answer the countless cries for
action.
Elizabeth Friedman
Freehold Township