Thompson to attend virtual town hall on gun violence epidemic
U.S. Representative Mike Thompson, center-right, with the late Rep. John Lewis, center-left, and other members of Congress appear in an undated photograph. (Public domain photo, Graphic by Solano NewsNet)
Congressman Mike Thompson will attend a virtual town hall meeting where he and another federal lawmaker will discuss strategies and actions to curb the epidemic of gun violence in the country.
The town hall will take place on Friday, June 3 at 10:00 a.m. and will be accessible via the free video conference application Zoom. Congresswoman Anna Eshoo, who represents a portion of the South Bay, will host the town hall meeting.
The forum comes amid a wave of mass shootings and other forms of gun violence over the last several weeks, including a racially-motivated mass murder of Black shoppers at a grocery store in upstate New York and the slaughter of 21 people — including 19 young children — at an elementary school in Texas.
Event: Rep. Thompson town hall on gun violence
When: Friday, June 3 at 10 a.m.
Where: Streamed via the free Zoom video conference app
More information: Click or tap here
Thompson, who this week affirmed he owns firearms, has been vocal about his support for “pragmatic and reasonable measures” that could prevent guns from being obtained by those who seek to commit mass atrocities.
“When guns fall into the wrong hands, it puts people at risk and threatens our Second Amendment rights,” Thompson wrote on the social media website Twitter.
Thompson sits on the chair of the House of Representatives’ Gun Violence Prevention Task Force. On Wednesday, he introduced a new bill called the “Protect Our Kids Act,” which would make it illegal for anyone to import or sell a large-capacity magazine for firearms and offer financial incentives for those who turn in such magazines through local and state buyback programs.
The legislation would further require gun owners to secure firearms inside their homes and impose criminal penalties for those who do not. It would also prohibit the sale of semi-automatic rifles — like the ones used in the New York and Texas massacres — to people under the age of 21. The suspects in both incidents were 18 years old.
“The Protect our Kids Act respects the Second Amendment while also taking steps necessary to help combat gun violence and help save lives,” Thompson said in a statement.
The virtual town hall will take place Friday via Zoom. Members of the public are required to pre-register before the town hall and will have an opportunity to submit questions to Rep. Thompson when they sign up for the event.
Thompson covers California’s 5th Congressional District, which includes the cities of Benicia and Vallejo. He is running for re-election in the redistricted 4th Congressional District, which will include Dixon, Vacaville, Rio Vista and unincorporated areas around those communities.
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