Thank you.
Ms. Bear, I'd like to draw your attention to an ambivalent situation and I need your knowledge, your traditions and your culture to make the necessary distinctions.
Our goal is certainly not to withdraw privileges from you, nor to limit the cultural advantages you are entitled to. We also agree that no firearm should find its way into the hands of criminals or gangs. We are aware of that problem.
The problem I want to submit to you today is of another order. According to other witnesses that appeared before the committee, the presence of firearms in a home constitutes a threat of family violence and keeps women and children in a state of insecurity.
How can you manage that issue? If background checks are not sufficiently rigorous, how can we monitor the presence of firearms in a residence? How can we intervene to reduce this threat, which targets mostly women?