Eric Swalwell, the newest candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, traveled to Broward on Tuesday to express solidarity with people affected by last year’s Parkland school massacre — and declare gun violence will be his top campaign issue.
“Throughout this campaign, there will be other issues that I talk about — health care, education and climate change. But my pledge to you tonight is that this issue comes first,” he told more than 300 people at a town hall on gun violence.
It was the first event of Swalwell’s presidential campaign, which began with a late-night TV appearance on Monday. “I couldn’t think of coming anywhere else,” he said.
The event brought together people with direct ties to the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School massacre — students from the school and relatives of some of the 17 people killed on Feb. 14, 2018 — along with activists from groups such as Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America.
“Hope died in Parkland over a year ago. But in a uniquely American way, through the strength and courage of our children, hope was born here too,” Swalwell said. He lamented that “mass shooting after mass shooting after mass shooting” took place and nothing happened except “moments of silence followed by no action.”
A central part of Swalwell’s platform is banning sales of assault weapons.
Weapons such as the AR-15 used in the multiple mass shootings including Stoneman Douglas aren’t the kind of firearm envisioned by the framers of the Second Amendment, who he said contemplated pistols and rifles.
But, Swalwell said, a ban isn’t sufficient
He said he would favor spending as much as $1,000 each for 15 million assault weapons to get them off the streets. He said it could be paid for by cancelling some military weapons procurement, a tradeoff he said was more than worth it.
Anyone who doesn’t want to part with an assault weapon would have it restricted to hunting clubs and shooting ranges.
He also called for improved background checks, and doing away with the legal prohibition on the federal government having a database of gun owners. He said people have been wrongly frightened by the National Rifle Association that a database would facilitate a government confiscation of weapons.
Democrats aren’t planning to seize guns, he said. “We’re going to come your house, offer you better health care, hopefully offer your kids better education. We’re not coming for your guns.”
In response to a question from one person in the audience — Lori Alhadeff, who was elected to the Broward School Board after her daughter Alyssa was killed in the Parkland shooting — he said enhanced background checks, going after assault weapons and more funding for mental health program would reduce deaths from gun violence.
“If we do that I promise you in my first term we would see a serious reduction in gun violence deaths,” he said. “That’s my vow to you.”
More mental health funding is a higher priority, he said, than building the next aircraft carrier or military fighter jet.
The room was silent when Swalwell read the names of the 17 people who were killed in the Parkland massacre. The audience applauded strongly when Swalwell said he wanted to take the “most dangerous weapons out of the hands of the most dangerous people” and hailed the defeats of 17 NRA-backed candidates in the 2018 midterm elections.
His focus on gun violence was praised by Fred Guttenberg, whose daughter Jaime was killed at Stoneman Douglas.
Guttenberg said he’s not making any endorsements in the Democratic primary, which already has 18 declared candidates, but said he wants candidates to talk about gun violence the way Swalwell is doing. “If they’re not talking about gun safety first, second and third, you don’t vote for them,” he said.
As he spoke and and answered questions for a little more than an hour, Swalwell worked some of his biography in his presentation — married with two children, first in his family to go to college, former prosecutor and congressman from California serving his fourth term.
Meredith Barry of Coral Springs, whose daughter is a Stoneman Douglas senior, has become active in Moms Demand Action since the shooting.
She said she was impressed with what she heard. “Hearing that this is going to be his No. 1 priority really hit me,” she said. “I see him in a different light. A good, positive light.”
Liz DeCastro of Parkland, whose son was on the third floor of the building at the time the massacre took place, said guns should be a priority for presidential candidates. “You can’t have enough spotlight on this issue.”
Alhadeff said Swalwell holding the event on his first full day as a candidate “shows a lot of heart. He wouldn’t be here if he didn’t feel this was important.”
Alex Sutton, 17, of Miami, a junior at Coral Gables Senior High School who is active in Students Demand Action, took a $50 Uber ride to get to the town hall meeting at the BB&T Center in Sunrise.
Sutton said it was worth it. “He seemed really genuine to me,” Sutton said. “He’s the real deal. He’s legit.”