01.16.13

Hoeven Statement on President Obama's Proposals to Address Gun Violence

WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven today issued the following statement in response to President Obama’s proposals to curb gun violence:

“As Americans, as members of families and communities, we all want to reduce the incidence of violence in our nation. That goal was tragically brought to the fore by the recent events in Newtown, Aurora and elsewhere in our nation, and we need to therefore carefully consider any legislation brought before the Senate to address the issue of violence in our schools and communities.

“To truly reduce acts of violence in our society, however, I believe we will need to take a thoughtful, comprehensive approach in order to build bipartisan support and, more importantly, to arrive at effective measures that will actually succeed. There are things that we can and should do to protect our children and curb violence in our communities.

“For example, we need to find ways to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and people with mental illnesses, as well as to provide greater security for students in our schools. In addition, we need to make sure that the gun laws that are already on the books are being fully enforced, and that individuals who lie on gun permit applications, which is a federal felony, are prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

“As a sportsman and an elected official, I have always been a strong proponent of the Second Amendment, and I don’t believe restricting law-abiding individuals from owning guns will address the problem of gun violence in America.

“In fact, there is no single measure or even set of measures that will prevent gun violence completely. I am confident, however, that working together, we can find ways to reduce gun violence and make our nation safer for all, without infringing on the Second Amendment or other rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.”