Six months after the mass shooting at a Monterey Park dance studio, officials are once again pushing for gun legislation.
Victims, relatives and local leaders gathered near the site of the massacre Friday to announce new initiatives in hopes of preventing similar tragedies.
Rep. Judy Chu, who represents Monterey Park in Congress, said she wants to put resources toward helping people understand red flag laws and navigating the system.
The proposed legislation would help people who have concerns of a relative, friend or neighbor who is showing signs of violence.
The congresswoman said that two weeks before the shooting at the Star Ballroom that left 11 people dead, the gunman showed signs that he was angry and paranoid when he walked into a police station and accused his family of poisoning him, all while stockpiling guns and ammunition.
She added that none of the people in his life knew that red flag laws could have allowed them to notify authorities and have his guns taken away.
Chu said the legislation would allow for proactive outreach in communities so that people can better understand the system. She indicated that HR 4780, the Language Access to Gun Violence Prevention Strategies Act, would remove linguistic barriers.
Thanks to red flag laws, at least potential 58 mass shootings and other acts of gun violence have been thwarted in California alone, Chu said.
Kristenne Reidy, the daughter of one of the victims, spoke in support of the new legislation.
“It just takes one bullet to end someone’s life. One bullet, one second, one gun in the wrong person’s hand,” she said.
The congresswoman also mentioned the Fair Legal Access Grants, or FLAG, Act, which would provide $50 million in grants to be distributed to community organizations that can assist people in navigating the legal system when trying to temporarily disarm someone showing signs of violence.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said that the legislation would allow people to feel comfortable contacting authorities or other government officials no matter what language they speak.
