With supporters and fellow Senators on hand, U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich held a press conference in Washington on Tuesday to talk about the Gas-Operated Semi-Automatic Firearms Exclusion, or GOSAFE Act.
Heinrich along with three other Senators introduced the bill earlier this week.
The GOSAFE Act is designed to protect communities from gun violence by regulating firearms based on the lethality of their internal mechanisms, as opposed to focusing on cosmetic features that manufacturers can easily modify.
Several gun safety organizations are backing the bill and were on hand for the press conference.
New Mexicans to Prevent Gun Violence Co-president Miranda Viscoli says everytime there is another mass shooting people ask Congress to take action.
“We write, we call, we testify at committee hearings, we meet repeatedly with our elected officials,” she said. “When children are tortured with assault weapons or mowed down in classrooms or bodies obliterated in outdoor concerts. We organize marches. We stage rallies, we hold vigils begging Washington to get these weapons out of our communities.”
Heinrich previously cosponsored the bipartisan Fix NICS Act, which requires federal and state authorities to produce background check implementation plans and holds federal agencies accountable for reporting relevant criminal records to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.
He also led the successful call to repeal the Dickey Amendment, which had previously prevented the Center for Disease Control and Prevention from funding research on gun violence and its effects on public health.
