U.S. Sen. Patty Murray is calling for federal gun reform.
She spoke at a press conference Friday and was joined by several others in Seattle, including a high school sophomore.
“Every single hour, every single day. That is how often students and staff think about gun violence when they walk into their classrooms,” said Chetan Soni, a sophomore at Lincoln High School in Seattle.
On Friday, Murray called on her fellow senators to pass a gun safety package, also known as the Protecting Our Kids Act.
The bill has already passed through the state. It includes several clauses aimed at gun reform, such as raising the legal age to buy certain semi-automatic rifles from 18 to 21 years old.
“I want to be clear — whatever we are able to negotiate with Republicans will not be a complete solution to the gun violence crisis in this country,” Murray said.
Senate republicans argue the act is an attack on the Second Amendment.
Murray was also joined by several other local leaders, including Renee Hopkins, the CEO of the Alliance for Gun Responsibility.
“In Washington state, we’ve written the playbook,” Hopkins said. “It’s time for the other Washington to follow suit.”
Gun violence has been on the rise in both King and Pierce counties this year, but Washington is a relatively safe state compared to others when it comes to gun violence. Firearm deaths are 12th-lowest nationwide, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Sen. Murray says the country needs to pass gun laws that Washington state already has.
“But we’re just one state,” Murray said. “We know that a patchwork of state laws is not going to cut it. Not when an 18-year-old can drive across the border to Idaho to buy an AR-15.”