re: Uvalde, TX

{NAME}, This week, an 18-year-old gunman killed 19 elementary students, 2 teachers, and his grandmother before dying in a firefight with police. This is a tragedy. I'm tired of "prayers for the victims" and "moments of silence" from public figures. The questions are - how do we stop this from happening again and who do we elect to get us there? There are two big lessons from Uvalde. 1.) We need stronger background checks and psychological checklists to owning semiautomatic weapons. This 18-year-old loner with few friends had no business owning two AR-15's. There's no indication that he had a criminal record, but it seems that everyone in his life knew that something was "off". The fact that he was able to buy guns legally mean that the system failed. 2.) We need an easier way to report, identify, and disarm gun owners who are seem dangerous. Apparently Ramos posted threatening messages on Instagram and sent disconcerting texts to an internet acquaintance. Neither of these were reported to the police. Mentally ill individuals often allude to their future crimes in public comments. We need to build a Law Enforcement infrastructure that can act on this. California has Gun Violence Restraining Orders (GVROs), which allow police to seize weapons for up to 21 days after getting a court order. This should be a national policy. We will also need to inculcate a "see something, say something" culture to encourage people to report potential criminals before they kill. I want to protect schoolchildren, grocery shoppers, and church-goers. I also want to protect our constitutional rights. We can best balance those two through background checks and enforcement systems to keep guns out of the hands of the mentally-ill, not by banning weapons. You may disagree - that's fine, but I want to make my position clear. I have no idea what LaMalfa thinks about this topic. His cowardly silence is deafening. CD-1 needs a better leader. America needs better gun laws. Thank you, Max Max Steiner is a combat veteran, foreign service officer, and Democrat running to flip California's 1st District from red to blue. Consider supporting Max's campaign by [making a grassroots contribution here.]( If you'd like to receive less email, add your name [here.]( We'd hate to see you go, but you can click here if you'd like to [unsubscribe](. Max Steiner is a combat veteran of the Iraq War and Sergeant First Class in the Army Reserves. Use of his military rank, job titles, and photographs in uniform does not imply endorsement by the Department of Defense. Max Steiner for Congress 2485 Notre Dame Blvd, Ste 370 #194 Chico, CA 95928 United States