Malverne Police Chief John Aresta will join more than 120 people who have also been directly affected by gun violence Tuesday to send a message to President Barack Obama as he delivers his State of the Union address.
Rep. Carolyn McCarthy told Newsday [paid link] that she decided to give Chief Aresta her guest pass to Tuesday's address, because he "knows the effects of weak federal public safety laws better than anyone."
Aresta explained how he has not only witnessed gun violence during his 23 years on the police force, but also, that his uncle was one of the seven victims killed in the mass shooting on the Long Island Railroad in 1993.
"I send my guys out there everyday to protect and serve the people of my village and the State of New York. I personally don't see a reason why anyone would need a 30-round clip or a 10-round clip for an assault rifle," Aresta stated on the Jan. 16 talk show. He also discussed how laws could have stopped Colin Ferguson from committing the deadly LIRR shooting had they been in effect at the time.
RELATED: Malverne Police Chief Talks Gun Control on Fox [VIDEO]
In addition to attending the president's address, Aresta will participate in a news conference McCarthy and some of her fellow Congress members will hold Tuesday afternoon. He'll also join more than 100 other gun violence survivors and their family members from 21 states as part of Mayors Against Illegal Guns’ Demand A Plan, campaign for common-sense gun law reforms. They will be advocating for legislation requiring every gun buyer to pass a criminal background check, to get military-style assault weapons and high-capacity magazines off our streets and make gun trafficking a federal crime.
Although he is a registered Republican, Aresta told Newsday he supports Democrats' efforts to strengthen gun control, stating:
"I am all for the Second Amendment. However, I don't believe when our Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution, they had any idea what kind of weapons we would be using today."
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