New Talk About Gun Reform:

Will Anything Change After the Cameras Leave?

Like many shocked viewers around the world, Democratic primary candidate John Flora (NJ-10) has been watching media coverage of the horrific shooting that occurred less than a mile from his home on Tuesday. The incident has spurred renewed conversation about gun reform. But Flora and many of his Greenville neighbors insist that they have heard this rhetoric before.

Having spent most of his life in the Greenville section of Jersey City, John knows firsthand about the violence that has chronically plagued the south side of the city. “Kids don’t have fistfights anymore. They ride up on bikes and shoot as many bullets as they can,” said Flora, comparing and contrasting the times. “Access to guns is also greater now than it was when I was a kid. The time of shootings today is also much more sporadic. Shootings,” he explained, “happen during all times of the day now, even when children are in school and on playgrounds.”

Flora started his crusade against gun violence several years ago when he began attending meetings and marches with the Jersey City Anti-Violence Coalition Movement. Today, he knows the importance of including those who have been affected by gun-violence in the problem-solving process. Together, they have drafted legislation which includes ideas from gun reform advocates, police brass, and families affected by gun violence. Illegal, out-of-town straw purchases from lax laws in neighboring states is one focal point of the policy he intends to introduce.

“Being direct and asking families who have been torn apart by senseless killings,” said Flora, “that is how we are constructing a bill that can garner bipartisan support.” Flora has attended numerous services and vigils since Tuesday, though his work on this issue started a long time ago. “I don’t just feel for the victims of this recent shooting. We must not forget ALL of the victims that firearms have claimed across our city.”

Flora, a school teacher and father of two, has been vocal in bringing people together to find the right way to deal with this problem. He partakes in collaborative action and hopes that he can bring his legislation all the way to the Congress. As the progressive in this primary, he is posturing to lead on gun reform. “Having an F rating from the NRA is something every Democrat in New Jersey can flaunt; but introducing a bill that can actually make it to the Senate floor, now that is something every Congressperson should be striving for.” Flora concluded that “our current representative has chronically failed to collaborate with his local community. Little to no action in a deadlocked Congress doesn’t justify his absenteeism or tepidity, especially when new groups like Students Deman Action are on the rise.”