Screen Capture from YouTube The House of Representatives on Wednesday passed the Active Shooter Alert Act. Rep. Nancy Mace, Rep. David Cicilline (RI-01), and Rep. Fred Upton (MI-06) have issued the following statements on the passage of their legislation:
Rep. Mace:
“It is vital to our communities and children we implement policies which will keep them safe from active shooter threats. This voluntary alert system will act similarly to the AMBER Alert system, which has saved countless lives by keeping our communities informed and kept away from serious threats. I look forward to watching this bipartisan piece of legislation pass the Senate, then enacted throughout the country to save lives.”
Rep. Cicillinl:
“Mass shootings have become ubiquitous – so frequent that some of these horrific events barely make headlines – but we cannot become numb to these events. This is not the time to settle for the status quo – we need to act now to make our communities safer, and that means providing law enforcement with resources they need. During active shooter events, law enforcement officers are having to take to social media to communicate with the surrounding community so that no one accidentally walks into the line of fire – this is terribly inefficient and dangerous. Law enforcement needs and deserves better tools than Twitter to communicate with the community and the Active Shooter Alert Act answers that call. This will help ensure that every single Rhode Islander will be better able to keep themselves and their families safe from gun violence.
Rep. Upton:
“This bill is about keeping our communities safe and supporting law enforcement,” said Rep. Fred Upton, (MI-06). “By alerting the public to an ongoing active shooter threat, we can help folks avoid the area and better enable police and first responders to focus on ending the situation and saving lives. I have heard from our law enforcement and police chiefs that active shooter alerts can be a vital tool to provide accurate, real-time information to our communities, and one they believe will help in these dangerous situations.”
To read the bill text go here .
The press conference on the Active Shooter Alert Act can be viewed below:
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