New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, a 2020 Democratic presidential hopeful, is proposing a plan to reduce gun suicides by limiting the access to firearms for those who are at risk of self-harm. A CDC report released in 2018 revealed that over 22,000 people died from firearm suicides in 2016.
The five-point plan includes the implementation of federal gun licensing program, which is a centerpiece of the gun control plan Booker unveiled last week and would require a background check, safety training and an in-person interview, which Booker argues would help identify people at risk of suicide.
Another feature of the plan includes incentivizing “extreme risk” laws, where law enforcement and family members are allowed to intervene by petitioning courts to take firearms from those at risk of hurting others or themselves.
“Gun suicides are an aspect of the gun violence epidemic that rarely get the attention they deserve,” Booker said in a statement. “We should be doing so much more as a country to stop these preventable deaths, and it’s shameful that the gun lobby is standing in the way.”
Read more at CBS.
{Matzav.com}