The Alliance for Gun Responsibility released the following statement on the shooting at North Park Elementary School in San Bernardino, CA:

“Our thoughts are with the victims’ families, first responders, and the entire San Bernardino community, as they deal with the aftermath of the shooting at North Park Elementary School today. As we know, the impact of gun violence reverberates long after the shooting itself. This is yet another senseless tragedy.

Crisis situations can quickly escalate and if a gun is involved, those situations are more likely to turn deadly. In this case, that crisis situation was domestic violence. Data shows that women are five times more likely to be killed by an abuser if he owns a gun and domestic violence is often a contributing factor or warning sign in mass shootings. In 57 percent of mass shootings (defined as four or more people shot in the course of a single incident), a romantic partner of family member was among the victims.

While we mourn the loss of life today, we must also look to our legislators and insist that they support commonsense gun violence prevention laws. There is legislation on the table here in Washington and across the country that would help keep guns out of dangerous hands. We need more bi-partisan support to pass these laws so we can keep our communities and schools safe.”