Pansing Brooks attacks Flood vote against active shooting alert bill | Govt. & Politics

A day after being sworn in as Nebraska’s 1st District congressman, Flood “ignored the advice of law enforcement and voted against a bill to help people stay safe during an active shooting,” Pansing Brooks said.

Flood joined most of his Republican colleagues in voting against a bill designed to help state and local governments set up a warning system during active shooter situations.

The system would be similar to Amber Alert announcements when a child is abducted.

“In this epidemic of mass shootings, it is unimaginable that anyone would oppose legislation to alert people about an active shooter in their vicinity,” Pansing Brooks, the Democratic nominee in the upcoming Nov. 8 general election, said.

The House passed the bill on a 260-169 vote, with 43 Republicans supporting the measure.

“Rather than addressing the underlying issues that lead to these awful tragedies, the Democrats would prefer to convince the public that guns are the problem,” Flood said. “That’s the true intent of this legislation.”

Flood said the proposal is redundant since an emergency alert system already exists and it includes alerts regarding active shooters.

Rep. Don Bacon, Nebraska’s 2nd District Republican congressman, voted for enactment. Rep. Adrian Smith, the 3rd District GOP congressman, voted no.

Flood defeated Pansing Brooks in a June 28 special election to determine who would serve the remaining six months of former Rep. Jeff Fortenberry’s term. Fortenberry resigned from the seat following his conviction on charges that he lied to federal officials about an illegal foreign contribution to his 2016 reelection campaign.

After winning primary elections in May, Flood and Pansing Brooks will meet in a rematch at the Nov. 8 general election to determine who serves the next two-year term beginning in January.