Interview: Rep. Madeleine Dean—On the Issues

“In the Democratic caucus, we elected more new women than men. Think of that statement!”

Before beginning her first term representing Pennsylvania’s Fourth Congressional District in January, Madeleine Dean served for six years in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. Campaigning on issues such as ending the opioid crisis, addressing gun violence, and expanding access to healthcare, Ms. Dean defeated Republican Dan David to win the seat in the newly-redrawn Pennsylvania congressional map. Since arriving in Washington, she has joined a number of congressional caucuses, including the PFAS Task Force to fight water contamination. She joins Merion West and Connor Mustakas to discuss the key issues she is prioritizing in Congress.

To start on the topic of gun regulation, Congresswoman Dean, you have a history working on the issue of gun violence. You were a founding member of the PA SAFE Caucus following the Sandy Hook shooting. Do you think there’s anything that you have done as an organization that can translate to the national stage? What do you think should be the next step on a national level when it comes to gun violence?

I am a member of the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force with Chairman Mike Thompson (D-CA) in the U.S. House of Representatives, and you will see an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer about the very first bill that I introduced; it will prohibit the possession of any firearm that is undetectable by airport screening devices.

In 2012, we sat down to write the mission statement of the Pennsylvania state caucus, and it was argued to me that we should not use the word “gun.” Imagine that. We’re talking about the slaughter of babies and trying to get our arms around the difficulty in this country. Last year, 40,000 people died from gun violence, and another 80,000 were literally caught and wounded in the crossfire.