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Amy, Chuck Schumer Team Up To Call For Increased Gun Control

(AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Comedian Amy Schumer is joining her cousin, U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, to call for stricter gun control laws and more access to mental health treatment. Last month in Louisiana, a gunman killed two people and injured nine before killing himself at a screening of Amy Schumer’s movie Trainwreck. The shooter had a history of decades of mental health problems, including an involuntary commitment for being a danger to himself and others.

Shortly after the shooting, gun control activist Sarah Celements wrote an essay asking Amy Schumer to speak out against violence.

Clement’s mother survived the 2012 Newtown School Shooting.

Amy Schumer wrote a tweet this past weekend saying, “Don't worry I'm on it. You'll see.” She joined Senator Schumer at a press conference on Monday. The Senator said he’ll introduce a bill that would make it harder for violent criminals and the mentally ill to obtain guns. The bill would give money to states that submit all the necessary records into the federal background check system, and penalize states that do not.

Chuck and Amy Schumer also called on Congress to maintain funding for mental health and substance abuse programs. Amy Schumer said Monday, “these are my first public comments on the issue of gun violence—I can promise you this: they will not be my last.”

Kathie is a former editor at WSHU.