Washington, D.C.-California U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein in keeping with her recent efforts to support the President and stiffen gun control laws, has introduced a bill to close a loophole that allows individuals convicted of a foreign felony or foreign crimes involving domestic violence to possess firearms in the United States. She's calling it the No Firearms for Foreign Felons Act.
Feinstein tells Central Coast News, "Under current federal law, individuals convicted in the United States of violent felonies like rape, murder and terrorism are prohibited from possessing firearms. However, federal law does not bar criminals convicted of those same violent crimes in foreign courts from possessing guns. This legislation closes that loophole."
Feinstein announced Monday that she's invited a California victim of gun violence to attend Tuesday's State of the Union address. In 1999, 6-year-old Josh Stepakoff was shot at the North Valley Jewish Community Center shooting in Granada Hills, Calif., near Los Angeles. The gunman was a white supremacist who fired more than 70 rounds with a semi-automatic assault rifle, injuring five people, including three young children.
Stepakoff is now 20 and Feinstein says, "Josh is a remarkable young man whose life was forever changed by a senseless act of mass gun violence. Since his tragic experience, Josh has become a voice for young victims across the country." He is a member of the board of Women Against Gun Violence and is involved with Mayors Against Illegal Guns and the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. He is currently a student at California State University Northridge.
Feinstein hopes that the President will speak about gun control at Tuesday State of the Union. "As the president said, ‘weapons designed for the theater of war have no place in our society.' I hope he will again address this issue in Tuesday's speech."
