Congresswoman Karen Bass has represented California’s 37th District since 2011. Congresswoman Bass’s political career began in the California State Assembly, where she served for five years. In 2008, she became the first-ever African American woman in the country to serve as speaker of a state legislature. Prior to entering public service, Congresswoman Bass founded Community Coalition, an organization that empowers local neighborhoods to address poverty and crime, in response to the gang violence crisis in Los Angeles. 

Congresswoman Bass’s experience in social justice and community-focused public policymaking, as well as her position as current chair of the largest-ever Congressional Black Caucus, has been central to her gun violence prevention work. Congresswoman Bass co-sponsored measures to ban large-capacity magazines and voted for the Bipartisan Background Checks Act. She also introduced the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act, which took critical steps to disarm domestic abusers and overwhelmingly passed the House in April 2019. In response to public outcry for police reform, she introduced the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. Congresswoman Bass remains dedicated to preventing senseless gun violence and ensuring the safety of her constituents.

We are proud to endorse Karen Bass for the US House of Representatives in 2020.