New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker participated in a roundtable discussion in South Los Angeles late last week on gun violence prevention. The 2020 Democratic presidential candidate was joined by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti.
The discussion took place Aug. 22 at Vector90, a co-working space, cultural hub and incubator in South Los Angeles co-founded by slain rapper Nipsey Hussle.
Booker was the second presidential candidate to visit the site. South Bend, Ind. Mayor Pete Buttigieg toured it on July 25.
In May, Booker announced a gun violence prevention plan he said would “make it harder for people who should not have a gun to get one.” Booker has pledged to take executive action from his first day as president to close loopholes in gun sales, crack down on unscrupulous dealers and gun manufacturers and financially supporting communities impacted by gunviolence.
The plan also calls for:
—Requiring people seeking to buy guns to submit fingerprints, provide basic background information, and demonstrate completion of a certified gun safety course. The FBI would then verify submission of required materials and run a comprehensive background check before issuing a federal gun license, after which the license-holder could freely purchase and own firearms;
—Allowing the Consumer Product Safety Commission to make safety warnings and issue recalls for faulty firearms;
—Repealing a law protecting firearms manufacturers and dealers from being held liable when crimes have been committed with their products;
—Requiring “microstamping” technology to be incorporated into new models of semi-automatic handguns sold in the U.S. to trace crime guns as soon as a shell casing is found;
—Closing the “boyfriend loophole” that allows access to guns by physically abusive ex-boyfriends and stalkers with previous convictions;
—Ensuring a background check on every gun sale;
—Banning assault weapons and
—Providing dedicated funding for research on gun violence as a public health issue.
California Sen. Kamala Harris also made a presidential campaign stop in Los Angeles on Aug. 22. Harris held a held a fundraiser at the home of Michael Kives, the CEO of the recently formed media and financial services advisory firm K5 Global, and his wife Lydia, a civil rights attorney.
