Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz: “Long-Term, Comprehensive Approach” Needed for Gun Violence

A six-member panel said that simply banning all high-capacity magazines or heavy-duty weapons isn't the solution

Flanked by local members of the National Rifle Association, Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz said a solution to the nation's gun violence problem is possible – but it will be a process of many parts.

"We can't adopt an attitude that there's just one thing we can do and all the gun violence will go away," Wasserman Schultz explained Wednesday. "We have to take a long-term, comprehensive approach so that we can really address this problem."

Wasserman Schultz and a panel she convened in Oakland Park called the problem "complicated," pointing out that there is also urgency to solve it, with thousands of lives lost each year to guns.

But while there is pressure to do something, the six-member panel said that banning all high-capacity magazines or heavy-duty weapons alone isn't the solution.

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"It's more than just banning guns, everything has to be taken into consideration, one thing we universally agreed on was the universal background checks," explained NRA member and guns rights advocate Jim Cummings, who sat on the panel.

Universal background checks are not sanctioned by the NRA, nor is a push to close the so-called gun show loophole that allows gun buyers to skip the checks at gun shows.

The panel also called for increased funding for mental health services and school security guards in the wake of the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut last month.

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Roundtable member Michael Katz said the key to attacking the nation's gun violence problem is finding common ground.

"What we need to do is work to balance the measures and steps taken which will in the short term reduce the risk, and will give us hope for the long term that we can come to a solution that balances everyone's rights," Katz said.

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