Funny girl Amy Schumer put her comedic chops on hold to take the stand on stronger firearms laws in a press conference in New York on Monday, August 3. The 34-year-old actress joined her second cousin, Senator Chuck Schumer, as he outlined his three-pronged proposal for more stringent gun control.
In her statement, Schumer talked about the gunman that killed two people - Mayci Breaux, 21 and Jillian Johnson, 33 - during a "Trainwreck" showing at the Grand Theater in Lafayette, Louisiana last July 23. Getting emotional as she spoke of the tragic incident, the actress revealed that she has "thought about these victims each day since the tragedy."
She refused to name the 59-year-old shooter, John Russell Houser, who is reported to have had a history of mental problems. He killed himself after killing the two women and injuring many others.
"We'll never know why people choose to do these painful things, but sadly we always find out how," she continued at the press conference as her second cousin stood beside her.
"How the shooter got their gun, and it's often something that shouldn't have happened in the first place. And today's push makes so much sense because it seeks to address the how. We need a background check system, without holes and fatal flaws. We need one with accurate information that protects us like a firewall."
The female comedian, who experienced a boost of star power in the wake of the box-office hit "Trainwreck," took a break from celebrity press to lend her voice to the controversial political issue in hopes of preventing another tragedy from happening in the future. According to New York Post, Sen. Schumer said that his cousin's fame will help shine a light on the subject of gun control to a wider audience.
"Having people like Amy speaking out reaches people who I could never reach," he explained to the reporters present at the conference.
The legislation proposal of Sen. Schumer is a three-part act that calls for a stronger background check by providing incentives to states who submit accurate information to the federal government for the background check system on gun applicants.
Since a significant number of gunmen in similar tragic shootings have suffered from mental issues, the senator also urged the Department of Justice to undertake surveys to find the best standards for involuntary commitment to mental health facilities, as well as called for the Congress to fund the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
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