Public Safety & Gun Safety

As a former judge, I presided over thousands of gun violence cases in Durham. All were senseless and tragic. Public safety is diminished with every incidence of a shooting and death.  Today there are more guns in this country than there are people. In my courtroom, young teenagers told me it would only take them 10 minutes to go out and find a gun.

Mass shootings and death are at epic proportions: Schools, shopping centers, concerts, workplaces. Too often high-powered semiautomatic weapons are used to cause carnage and death. Too often we have heard that warning signs were given before the destruction. We can and must enact gun safety laws so children are not afraid to go to school or families fearful to be at church or in a mall. 

In 2018, the year after my appointment to the N.C. House, another school massacre occurred at Parkland High School in Florida. Within days, I introduced a sensible gun safety bill, the Extreme Risk Protection Law to Save Lives and Prevent Suicide. This is known as a “red flag” bill that would allow a judge, after a hearing, to take guns out of the hands of people considered dangerous or at risk of suicide. Although similar bills have passed in 19 other states, the N.C. Republican leadership did not allow this bill to be heard or even discussed in a committee. In every legislative session since, I have sponsored 10 common sense bills addressing gun safety, including safe storage of guns, universal background checks, bans on high-capacity semi-automatic firearms and ammunition, and law enforcement gun buyback programs. The Republican majority has blocked debate or consideration of every single gun safety bill.

Public polling shows that the vast majority of North Carolinians are in favor of stronger gun safety laws that enhance public safety. We must take action.