Dear Members of 118th Congress,

As gun violence continues to ravage our country and the nation experiences a mass shooting of four or more people every day including a recent high profile mass shootings at Monterey Park, and Half Moon Bay, Police Chiefs and other first responders urge you to pass S. 25 and H.R. 698 to ban assault weapons. 

S. 25 and H.R. 698 will prohibit future sale, manufacture, transfer, or possession of semiautomatic assault weapons and large capacity ammunition feeding devices – weapons of war that are designed to kill as many Americans as possible and outgun our police officers.  

In addition to the tragic mass shootings in Uvalde, Buffalo, and Highland Park, during this Congress, our nation has experienced at least 877 instances of gun violence involving military style assault weapons, resulting in over 453 deaths and 714 injuries including many police officers.  
                                                       
While a bullet from a regular handgun lacerates an organ, a round from an AR-15 military style weapon shreds it, often proving fatal. According to the medical examiner who testified at the recent Parkland trial, the killer purposely chose the Smith & Wesson AR-15 because of its high-capacity magazines and ability to “kill
effectively.” The weapon empowered the murderer to fire 39 rounds as quickly as the could pull the trigger, creating small entrance wounds in his victims but practically liquifying organs and causing extensive bodily damage.

The local pediatrician who rushed to Uvalde Memorial Hospital after the massacre of 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Texas testified during a congressional hearing on gun violence and shared that children were “pulverized” and “decapitated” by AR-15 bullets. Tragically, DNA samples were
required to identify the victims of the Uvalde shooting and many victims of mass shootings have to be identified by their clothing because they are virtually indistinguishable looking after being hit with multiple rounds.

In fact, researchers estimate that if we banned access to such firepower, our nation would experience 70 percent fewer mass shooting deaths. Throughout your career, you have stood with us to support reinstating the federal assault weapons ban. In this Congress, you have found creative ways to pass significant public safety legislation by bringing together bipartisan support from both sides of the aisle.

As current and former law enforcement officials we implore you to apply the same level of energy and tenacity to finding a pathway for renewing the ban on military style assault weapons before the new year, chasing down every last opportunity to get these deadly guns off our streets and save lives.