Gun reform has increasingly become the subject of national debate as mass shootings plague schools, places of worship, shopping centers and other public spaces around the United States.
Rep. John Delaney (D-Maryland), a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, explained to uPolitics his plan to combat this epidemic of gun-related violence.
“It’s terrible. I would get behind the kind of gun safety proposals that I think are very much common sense and the American people support,” said Delaney. “I strongly support universal background checks. I strongly support limitations on certain high-powered assault weapons.”
WATCH: JOHN DELANEY ON HIS PLAN TO IMPROVE THE U.S. ECONOMY
Delaney also said he backs so-called “red flag laws,” which permit American citizens to alert judges if someone in their family has a serious mental illness and is a gun owner. Should said person have made a threat to harm themselves or anyone else, the court could then intervene and take away the firearm in question.
Many gun-related deaths in the United States are also suicide-related, which has prompted several lawmakers and activists to tie the issue of firearms to mental health.
SLIDESHOW: TOP DEMOCRATS RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT IN 2020
Several 2020 Democratic candidates have stressed the need for universal background checks and for closing loopholes in gun sales, both in person and online. Other lawmakers and gun reform advocates have pushed for safe storage practices and for transfers of firearms within households to be more closely monitored and regulated. There have also been calls for bans on assault weapon accessories like bump stocks.
WATCH: JOHN DELANEY ON HIS NATIONAL SERVICE PLAN
On Monday, many people took to Twitter to commemorate the four-year anniversary of the shooting at the Emanuel AME Baptist Church in Charleston, South Carolina, where nine people were killed.
