Chaska Minnesota Police Department

Chief Scott M. Knight

Republican Congressman Mike Castle from Delaware had to ask Chief Knight to repeat his statistic. “Since 1963 more Americans have died from gunfire than perished in combat in the whole of the 20th century.”

Our country’s war losses are staggering and devastating to our families, but when you hear that we lose 30,000 Americans every year to gun violence, it does make you stop and think … and ask the question again.

Chief Knight is head of the Chaska, Minnesota’s police department and chair of the Firearms Committee of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the largest association of law enforcement executives in the world.On July 14, 2010, Chief Knight provided testimony on H.R 2324, the bill to close the gun show loophole, at the first-ever Congressional Forum on the gun show loophole. Brady activists and Virginia Tech victims pressed Representative Bobby Scott (VA), chairman of the House Subcommittee on Crime, to hold the Forum.

That’s when Chief Knight’s statistic about America’s losses to gun violence struck disbelief among the Committee members and audience in the packed hearing room. “The loss of so many lives is senseless, but the solutions are obvious. The solid first step is to close the gun show loophole that allows the sale of guns on a cash and carry basis, with no identification required.”

Chief Knight’s fight for strict gun laws is not only professional. ” It’s personal,” he says. “A few years ago, one of my officers was shot in the line of duty. And last May, another officer, an uncle to one of my sergeants, was ambushed, shot and killed.”

Chief Knight actively speaks out for stronger gun laws every occasion he gets. In 2007, he joined other law enforcement at a Brady press conference urging Congress to repeal the Tiahrt provision that limits law enforcement’s access to crime trace data that would help solve gun crimes. He also advocates for reporting of lost or stolen guns; safe storage of firearms and ammunition, especially around children; and limits on the kinds of guns and ammunition that can be purchased. “Military assault weapons and armor-piercing bullets do not belong on our streets. We’re being outgunned. It’s like law enforcement is in an arms race with criminals.”

But Chief Knight also recognizes the challenge of moving legislators to side with law enforcement in enacting strict, life-saving gun laws. “We need partners in every community, we need elected officials in Congress and in state legislatures to stop catering to special interests and instead act in the public interest to reduce the terrible, and escalating, risk of gun violence in America.”

CLICK HERE to tell your U.S. Senators to take action to CLOSE THE GUN SHOW LOOPHOLE!