House minority leader Nancy Pelosi vowed to advance “bipartisan, commonsense” gun-control legislation on Thursday, hours after a gunman shot and killed twelve people at a bar in Southern California.
“The American people deserve real action to end the daily epidemic of gun violence that is stealing the lives of our children on campuses, in places of worship and on our streets,” said Pelosi, who is expected to lead the Democrats’ newly secured majority as speaker.
“House Democrats will fight to pass bipartisan, commonsense solutions to prevent gun violence in communities across the country,” she added. “May it bring some measure of comfort to all who have been hurt or have lost loved ones that so many grieve and pray with them during this time.”
The shooter, a 28-year-old native of the Los Angeles area, took his own life after opening fire with a .45 caliber handgun in the Borderline Bar & Grill, a popular college bar in Thousands Oak, Calif.
“It is particularly wrenching that this attack was carried out at a bar hosting a college night, targeting innocent young people enjoying an evening of music and community,” Pelosi said.
Pelosi similarly promised to prioritize gun-control legislation during a roundtable discussion last month with student survivors of the February mass shooting in Parkland, Fla. The students reportedly advocated an assault-weapons ban as well as universal-background-check legislation during the meeting. Pelosi said she supports both measures but argued the latter is the more politically feasible option.
“What saves the most lives is the background checks — keeping guns out of the hands of people who should not have them, whatever the weaponry,” Pelosi told the students.