House Democrats set first panel hearing on gun violence in 8 years

Jan. 31 (UPI) -- The House judiciary committee has scheduled a hearing next week to debate gun violence prevention, its first in nearly a decade.

The hearing, called Preventing Gun Violence: A Call to Action, is set for Wednesday at 10 a.m. EST. It's the panel's first hearing on the issue in eight years.

The hearing was announced by Rep. Mike Thompson, D-Calif, chairman of the Democratic Gun Violence Prevention Task Force and author of a universal background check bill. He said the review is long overdue.

"[The House] is finally taking action to prevent gun violence -- our new [Democratic] majority is answering the call of the American people," Thompson said. "For six years, our Task Force implored the previous [Republican] majority to hold hearings and we were denied.

"No longer will Congress be silent on this issue."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said last month Democratic lawmakers plan to act "boldly and decisively" on gun reform, now that they control the chamber.

The hearing will come near the one-year anniversary of the school attack in Parkland, Fla., that killed 17 people. Some students who survived subsequently organized a national movement to push for new gun controls.