BEAVERTON, Ore. — Beaverton Mayor Lacey Beaty is a combat veteran who served in Iraq, married to another combat veteran. They are gun owners — but Beaty believes it's time for the nation to pass what she called "reasonable gun control measures."
Mayor Beaty was a guest on this week's episode of Straight Talk. She said following the mass shooting at a Uvalde, Texas elementary school where a gunman used an AR-15 rifle to kill 19 children and two teachers, she felt unsafe in America for the first time since serving in Iraq.
"When I dropped my daughter off at school that next day, I had a similar feeling that I did when I was 19 years old in a war zone, but I wasn't in Iraq. I was in America," Beaty said.
She tweeted: "We have the capacity to stop this-but not the guts! #EnoughisEnough"
Beaty said she's seen first-hand the damage automatic weapons can do.
"From somebody who has seen what an automatic weapon does to a human body, you will never unsee that," she said.
Mayor Beaty calls for Oregon lawmakers to ban automatic weapons
Beaty called on lawmakers to come together with a unified voice in the Oregon State Capitol to work toward banning automatic weapons in the state.
"My hope is we would do it across the country, but Oregon is forward thinking. We do things ahead of our peers, so let's do this thing to make sure young people, young Oregonians are safe," she said.
Beaty said she would support the initiatives a group of Portland faith leaders is trying to get on the November ballot that would require people to get a permit and pass a background check before buying a gun. It would also stop the sale of gun magazines with more than 10 rounds. Another initiative would ban the sale of many kinds of semi-automatic style guns in Oregon, and those who already own them would have to register them.
"No one is trying to make sure people can't own guns, we are to trying make sure what happened in a (Texas) school cannot happen again," Beaty said.
Beaty also discussed what the city of Beaverton is doing to address homelessness, build more affordable housing, work toward more affordable child care and address climate change.
Straight Talk airs Friday at 7 p.m., Saturday at 6:30 p.m. and Sunday at 6 p.m.
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