.
Feedback

Jackie Speier to Serve on Gun Violence Prevention Task Force

Congresswoman Speier, D-San Mateo, will serve as a vice chair of the task force.

 

Congresswoman Jackie Speier, D-San Mateo, will serve as a Vice Chair of a new congressional Gun Violence Prevention Task Force that will look at ways Congress can help reduce gun violence in the U.S.

The task force, led by Congressman Mike Thompson, D-Napa, will investigate new steps Congress can take now and in the future to reduce gun violence and prevent massacres like the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.

“We can turn the corner on gun violence with bold leadership and action. The victims of Newtown, Aurora, Oak Creek, Virginia Tech and Tucson deserve no less. It is time for Congress to enact common sense violence prevention laws that keep assault weapons and high capacity assault magazines out of our communities and require full background checks on all gun purchases,” Speier said in a statement.

 “It’s important to note that every day brings the equivalent of a mass murder when 33 people are killed in this country at the hands of guns. Enough is enough. It’s time to put public safety and public health first,” she said. 

Over the next month, the task force will hold a number of meetings and hearings with different experts designed to identify the best policies to reduce and prevent gun violence.

A comprehensive set of policy proposals will be released by the task force in early February.

Speier was Legislative Counsel to Congressman Leo Ryan in 1978 when she accompanied him to investigate the People’s Temple cult in Jonestown, Guyana.

Ryan was assassinated, and Speier was shot five times at close range.

She still carries two of the bullets in her body.

Since that time, Speier has been a consistent advocate of gun control, and carried assault weapons ban legislation in California 20 years ago.

Newsletter & Alerts

Get the best stories each day and important breaking news

Subscribe

Not from San Mateo Patch? Find your Local Patch »

Aaron January 8, 2013 at 10:15 pm
Umm ... my Identity is clear if you view my profile and have your finger on the pulse of what is happening on the peninsula.. and I have met in person with at least one other person in this thread.... he bought me lunch ... Thanks Lou!
the only reason I joined the patch in the first place is because some spaz commenter like Jo created a multi to pretend to be me after my name was mentioned in one of the news articles. anyway .. as far as calling BS on Jo. .. I got hit by a car in a crosswalk... that was ten years ago. to this day I still know the case number off the top of my head 061403-24 Tualatin Oregon Police. Jo supposedly was held up at gunpoint... Multiple times. Yet can't provide any proof ... still ... plenty of victims of gun violence speak out against weapons bans and with the courage to share their identity... I don't care much for it ... but posting a link to one of the more touching stories goes a whole lot farther than creating a bunch of multis that lie about getting shot at... unless you're just on the patch to rant and piss people off. I'm still kinda surprised that the second comment hasn't been deleted... which appears to me to be a direct threat of violence against a congressperson. How about you, Bren? What do you think about that second comment by Jo's first Multi "Andy".. is that a threat or not?
Justin January 8, 2013 at 10:26 pm
This pretty much sums up the entire gun control debate...sensible people trying to have common sense discussions with raving lunatics.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtyKofFih8Y
Bren January 8, 2013 at 11:52 pm
Aaron, I see that there's both an Andy and an Andy_99 posting here. I can't find the statement you're referring to, however, so I can't comment on that one point.
It really sucks that somebody impersonated you on this site. Sounds an awful lot like Vince Chutney's behavior. He is very well known to the moderators here and to a lot of us users for very blatantly and obviously creating multiple screen names and posting wildly untrue statements. I don't really have an opinion on whether Jo Tog and Vince Chutney are the same person, but I'm sure some of these other accounts with odd names belong to Vince.
Bren January 8, 2013 at 11:53 pm
Hi Justin! Now that you've shown up, I predict it will only be a matter of minutes before Vince Chutney uses one of his troll accounts to accuse you and me of being the same person.
Justin January 9, 2013 at 12:07 am
Hi Bren,
I've been out of the country on business. No bet--that's easy money for you! lol How many more trolls accounts has he added?
Bren January 9, 2013 at 12:15 am
Vince Chutney has so many troll accounts that sometimes I worry I might be one of them!
Andy_99 January 9, 2013 at 12:18 am
For the record, I'm not someone's troll account It should be pretty obvious if you read my posts.
Jo Tog January 9, 2013 at 02:18 am
Oh, jesus H Krist. You guys are idiots. I was in banking in San Francisco. WE WERE ALWAYS ROBBED BY GUNPOINT. Fools.
TGD January 9, 2013 at 04:23 am
"Oh, jesus H Krist. You guys are idiots. I was in banking in San Francisco. WE WERE ALWAYS ROBBED BY GUNPOINT. Fools."
Why didn't you protect yourself with your firearm? Isn't that the basis of your position? Sounds like a fanatic pro-life advocate that has a vasectomy.
haveapizza January 9, 2013 at 01:11 pm
I have no doubt that there will not be one sentence of discussion, by this task force, on the culture that brings this gun violence. There is a media firestorm when these mass shooting occurs, but the daily drip of death and woundings in African American and Latino neighborhoods across the nation, gets mention only in statistics. There is no meaningful discussion of the cultural causes of this violence and how to stop it.
Its too hard a topic and too sensitive to discuss. Reasonable dialogue has been squashed by the PC mentality of the media in complicity with politicians...elected and unelected.
Andy_99 January 9, 2013 at 01:39 pm
Agree with you 100%, haveapizza. I think there is a significant "not in my backyard" bias here. Most people aren't particularly concerned about gun violence as long as it's confined to Oakland, East LA, the south side of Chicago, etc. -- areas predominantly populated by minorities. Only when a large number of white, middle-class people get shot do you hear the cries that we need to change something and "we're better than this." Have you heard even one person in the media or Congress point out that the firearms homicide rate per capita for African Americans is 5 times that of whites?
Jo Tog January 9, 2013 at 02:46 pm
Firearms are prohibited in SF and in Banks. How would you feel if your teller had a weapon on them? Could be a good idea.
Jo Tog January 9, 2013 at 02:50 pm
It looks to me that Politicians value the White Race more than any other race. Why else for the lack of concern for minorities killing each other? Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel even said 'it is not a concern' why is no one asking him Why? I am Mexican. I can tell you first hand how even people in my race no longer value life. In mexico it is so much worse. 50 years ago it was not like this. Not like this at all. Very sad.
Bren January 9, 2013 at 08:07 pm
Why is it that people like you never talk about "cultural causes" when a white man like James Holmes or Adam Lanza shoot a bunch of white people?
When there's gun violence in non-white neighborhoods, you all are soooo very quick to talk about underlying cultural causes, but when a white man goes on a killing spree, suddenly he's a unique individual who happened to be troubled.
Lou Covey, The Local Motive January 9, 2013 at 08:46 pm
Buck, I never said it was illicit. I said it should put up a warning sign to a vendor. We have a program called Neighborhood Watch where residents report suspicious behavior of people in their neighborhood. If it applies in a neighborhood, why couldn't it apply at a gunshot, or an online business selling ammunition. it the latter case, it could have stopped the guy in Aurora. It doesn't mean the seller can do the sale, but it might be a good idea for the authorities to know about the guy.
Ben There January 9, 2013 at 08:59 pm
Bren: we have all been programed to believe that white people have no culture. only minorities have culture. that is PC101. no culture...no cultural causes. pretty simple.
Lou Covey, The Local Motive January 9, 2013 at 09:02 pm
...said an anonymous person on the internet. ;)
Andy_99 January 9, 2013 at 10:03 pm
I don't think anyone is saying not to look at the causes behind white people shooting white people. The point is that inner city homicides, in which the victims are overwhelmingly minorities, have never generated significant national attention. But when a bunch of white people are shot in a nice suburb, it's a national emergency.
The same issue comes up with missing children. The ones that get national media attention are overwhelmingly attractive white kids. I don't remember ever seeing a missing black (or hispanic, or Asian) child get any attention in the national media.
Jo Tog January 10, 2013 at 12:01 am
True. I had a mexican tell me exactly that, 'white people have no culture' I was shocked. Because they do.
haveapizza January 10, 2013 at 12:57 am
Andy_99 is correct. That is, indeed, what I am saying. There are so many people like Bren who appear unable to have an open dialogue about root cause issues of violence. They prefer to jump to their own narrow conclusions about the motives of those that may bring up sensitive topics. And by the way, gangs in LA got little attention until there were a couple shootings in Westwood near UCLA, a mainly white area. Suddenly, all of LA realized there were gangs, violence and shootings.
So Bren, please open your mind and be open to real discussions.
Bren January 10, 2013 at 01:09 am
haveapizza
7:57 pm on Wednesday, January 9, 2013 Andy_99 is correct. That is, indeed, what I am saying. There are so many people like Bren who appear unable to have an open dialogue about root cause issues of violence. They prefer to jump to their own narrow conclusions about the motives of those that may bring up sensitive topics. ----------------------------------------------------- Blah, blah, blah....
Pacificat January 10, 2013 at 01:10 am
Please give some examples of mass killing shootings in inner city schools.
Ben There January 10, 2013 at 03:12 am
Does Oakland count? Didn't some loonie kill a bunch of Korean students in April 2012. If only Jackie acted sooner.
Andy_99 January 10, 2013 at 03:43 am
According to the Huffington Post on 6/26/12, "The Chicago Tribune reports that before the school year ended on June 15, 24 students had been fatally shot and 319 students were wounded by gunfire. That's four fewer fatalities than the 2010-11 school year, according to police data obtained by the newspaper."
A number of sources have reported that Chicago's total for 2012 was 62 school-age children killed.
residentwithopinions January 10, 2013 at 12:38 pm
Looks like somebody took my name and switched 2 letters, jerk.
Anyhow, what nobody says in any article I've read about gun control either for or against it is, that these are all freak accidents, these shooting sprees will always happen, unfortunately. Try to ban guns, these"loonies" will find a way to acquire a gun and ammo, it's just a sad fact of living in such a large country with so much diversity, give cannot control everyone. Jackie Speir lost all credibility with me when she complained how food stamps didn't cover her coffee, which is a luxury not a necessity!
residentwithopinions January 10, 2013 at 12:40 pm
*government* cannot control....also remember horrible mass shooting inNorway? They have some of the toughest gun laws, where there is a will there is a way.
Jo Tog January 10, 2013 at 01:00 pm
Hey, Maybe poverty is the overwhelming cause of murder in inner cities. And, maybe anti-psychotic drugs that have a violent side effect , along with programming of violent video games is the cause of suicide shooters (Holmes was seeing a campus psychiatrist). Majority of the millions of law abiding gun ownrs have never hurt one person.
Jo Tog January 10, 2013 at 01:42 pm
Remember the L.A. Riots?? Check out how the Koreans protected their property. Pro Assault Rifle Koreans learned a important lesson.
http://townhall.com/columnists/katiepavlich/2013/01/10/the-need-for-semiautomatic-assault-weapons-n1485999/page/2
Bren January 10, 2013 at 09:13 pm
residentwithopinions
7:38 am on Thursday, January 10, 2013 Jackie Speir lost all credibility with me when she complained how food stamps didn't cover her coffee, which is a luxury not a necessity! ---------------------------------------------------- Careful Resident, your sense of privilege and entitlement is showing.
Bren January 10, 2013 at 09:20 pm
residentwithopinions
7:38 am on Thursday, January 10, 2013 Anyhow, what nobody says in any article I've read about gun control either for or against it is, that these are all freak accidents, these shooting sprees will always happen, unfortunately. Try to ban guns, these"loonies" will find a way to acquire a gun and ammo... ---------------------------------------- First of all, I think you may be a little unclear on the definition of the word "accident." Secondly, that's quite an assumption you're making about the ability and willingness of "loonies" to go to extraordinary lengths to acquire guns. If you really believe a mentally ill, homicidal maniac having to go underground and find illegal sources for his assault weapons is exactly the same situation as a mentally ill, homicidal maniac being able to waltz into a gun store or gun show and purchase an assault weapon, you must have rocks in your brain. One scenario readily lends itself to massive loss of human life. The other scenario makes it much more difficult for the would-be murderer to get a hold of his murder weapon of choice.
Note Article
Just a short thought to get the word out quickly about anything in your neighborhood.
Share something with your neighbors. Write a new post... What's up? Make an announcement, speak your mind, or sell something
Pearl June 13, 2013 at 02:15 pm
This is a compete outrage!!! A 12.7% salary increase?!? A 100% increase in his car allowance?!?Read More I say get rid of Grasseli, Olbert, Collins and Clapper. Shame, shame, shame on them!!! They have sold the residents of San Carlos down the river!!! Remember this, San Carlos voters, the next time you go to the polls!!!
Paul Burnette and Grant Wood prepare to cut the ribbon with Deputy Mayor Ross
Kimberly Jennings May 29, 2013 at 10:14 am
How exciting to have some of the best orthotic specialists in the WORLD right here in our ownRead More backyard, and with such a commitment to patient care as their top priority! So glad to read this.
Marc Gottlieb June 2, 2013 at 03:53 pm
PS: Ideally, everybody will be able to sign up at the college website. But I have to acknowledgeRead More that some of the language may not be perfectly as clear as we'd like, especially if this is your first enrollment. So, if you need any assistance (or maybe aren't computer-savvy) the very nice Registrar Office people can assist you on 650/574-6165. Just tell them you want to sign up for Summer semester, Real Estate Practice 110 class, Course Reference number 54642 and that you'd like to complete the enrollment today. You'll like the class once we get you in! Thank you!
Marc Gottlieb June 2, 2013 at 06:25 pm
PS: Ideally, everybody will be able to sign up at the college website. But I have to acknowledgeRead More that some of the language may not be perfectly as clear as we'd like, especially if this is your first enrollment. So, if you need any assistance (or maybe aren't computer-savvy) the very nice Registrar Office people can assist you on 650/574-6165. Just tell them you want to sign up for Summer semester, Real Estate Practice 110 class, Course Reference number 54642 and that you'd like to complete the enrollment today. You'll like the class... and CSM... once we get you in! ALL WELCOME! Thank you!
Peter Radsliff May 27, 2013 at 08:56 pm
We have left the dog with the Peninsula Humane Society at 12 Airport Blvd. at Peninsula Ave.
imollyq May 30, 2013 at 09:55 pm
Among all the supporters isn't there one competent attorney who can get an injunction to keep theRead More rink from being destroyed and who can sue SPI Holding, and if necessary the City, to enforce the Master Plan Agreement? A toilet and an astro turf field are useless to ice skaters. I smell something rotten in the Mayor and the City Council's excuses. At least one skater must have a parent or family member who is an attorney with some sense of decency to do the work pro bono.
Claire Mack June 2, 2013 at 09:21 am
To close the ice rink is a crime. I had this conversation years ago with Peter Pau, the man whoRead More built it. We need places for children to recreate. When we send them to juvenile hall, we wring our hands and wonder why! No skate board parks in convenient places and now the skating rink. Why are our children the ones to sacrafice?