Amy Schumer Makes Emotional Pitch for Tighter Gun Control, Mental Health Care

In late July, a shooter open fired during a showing of Amy Schumer's movie "Trainwreck," killing two people and injuring nine. Amy issued a brief statement after the tragedy, but she did not stop there. She and her cousin, who happens to be Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), held a press conference on Monday, August 3 to discuss the need for more gun control and mental health care to prevent future shootings.

Mashable has a breakdown of the press conference, during which the two Schumers proposed three actions.

1. Sen. Schumer unveiled new legislation that aimed to financially reward states that "submit all necessary records into the background check system and creates penalties for states that do not submit all records."

2. The pair called on the Department of Justice to write a report "comparing all states' standards for involuntary mental health commitment," and pushed for "federal recommendations" for best practices.

3. They called on Congress to fund mental health and substance abuse programs that provide treatment to those who need it most. They also urged increased funding for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Amy also made an emotional statement on the tragedy:

I'm not sure why this man chose my movie to end those two lives and injure nine others, but it was very personal for me. We always find out how the shooter got their gun and it's always something that never should have happened in the first place. ... These shootings have got to stop. I don't know how else to say it."

Here are some live tweets from the press conference:

"Critics scoff and say there's no way to stop crazy people from doing crazy things, but they're wrong," Amy Schumer. http://pic.twitter.com/ulb1ZiHt1j

- Colin Daileda (@ColinDaileda) August 3, 2015

Actress Amy Schumer, pretty clearly emotional, talking about gun violence. https://t.co/Lus3NakseJ

- Colin Daileda (@ColinDaileda) August 3, 2015

Grateful to @amyschumer for adding her talent & her voice to the nationwide call to put an end to #gunviolence. http://pic.twitter.com/tJyRdNyinw

- Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) August 3, 2015

Sen. Schumer also referenced the June church shooting in Charleston, South Carolina, saying, "If there's anything that the mass shootings ... have taught us, it's that we should do everything in our power to close these loopholes. We all know that if laws were tighter, the shooter in Charleston would not have been able to purchase a gun." Amy added that she's had death threats for her comedy, so she expects more death threats for advocating for more gun control.

Want more stuff like this? Like us on Facebook.


from The Moviefone Blog http://ift.tt/1KMBlFR
via IFTTT