Getty ImagesAmy Schumer and her cousin, Sen. Chuck Schumer, are teaming up for a good cause: to end gun violence.
The comedienne and her politician cousin are calling for tighter gun laws in the wake of a mass shooting in a movie theater in Louisiana. The theater had been playing her hit comedy, Trainwreck, when three people, including the gunman, were killed. Approximately nine people were transported to a nearby hospital for treatment for injuries. They ranged from non-life threatening to critical and life-threatening.
"I'm not sure why this man chose my movie to end those two lives and injure nine others, but it was very personal for me," said Amy. "We always find out how the shooter got their gun and it's always something that never should have happened in the first place."
Both Schumers announced a new, three-pronged plan and a public push at a press conference Monday in New York to crack down on mass shootings and gun violence. The senator's plan includes new legislation that creates financial rewards for states that submit all appropriate paperwork to the background check system. It will also penalize those states that don't.
Amy and Chuck also called for the Department of Justice to write a comprehensive report that compares all states' standards for involuntary mental health commitment. They would also like the governmental body to release recommendations on "best practices."
The Inside Amy Schumer actress and her cousin also called on Congress to fully fund mental health and substance abuse programs to treat those in-need. Because there's a proposed budget cut to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the duo warned that now is not the time to cut funding from these programs.
The Hollywood A-lister has been working to diminish gun violence since the Lafayette, Louisiana, shooting, and even responded to a fan's letter that called for the actress to "shut down" these ideologies.
"Her name was Mayci, not Marci and I think about her and Jillian everyday," the actress wrote on Twitter when recalling the two victims who passed away. "Don't worry I'm on it. You'll see."
Schumer isn't the first star to speak out against gun violence. Australian actress Rebel Wilson has also spoken out about it since her home country has far stricter regulations.
"I don't like getting political but America you really have to follow Australia's example re gun laws," the Pitch Perfect star shared on Twitter. "I don't remember a mass shooting in Australia since they overhauled the gun laws."
She added, "It seems like every week in America there's a shooting."