Washington, D.C. — On Thursday, Rep. Lucy McBath (D-GA-07) joined House Assistant Minority Leader Joe Neguse and gun violence prevention leaders from across the House Democratic Caucus for a press conference in honor of National Gun Violence Prevention Awareness Month. Rep. McBath and Assistant Leader Neguse were joined by Gun Violence Prevention Task Force Chair Mike Thompson, as well as Task Force Members Robin Kelly, Norma Torres, and Maxwell Frost for a fierce call to act swiftly to advance common sense regulations that will help save lives.
Congresswoman McBath: “As you can see, we represent every cross-section of this country, and we're all coming together to make our future brighter and safer for our future generations. [...] We, the ‘Gun Sense’ Democratic Caucus, are working to protect every American, no matter what your political affiliation is, even if the current majority doesn't want to stand up for the safety of their own constituents and their own families. I promise you we will. I'm so grateful to each and every one on the stage and all of my colleagues for all the phenomenal work that they do every single day. And as a survivor, having lost my own child, I cannot tell you how important it is to have their support.”
Assistant Leader Neguse: “[Democrats] had great success in the last Congress, thanks to the leaders here, with President Biden's leadership in getting the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act across the finish line. The first time in two decades, over two decades, that the Congress enacted bipartisan legislation to save lives. But we know that that legislation was the starting point. A first step, not the last step. And that there's much more to do. We stand here today, to say we are ready to work with anyone in good faith to address what is clearly a pervasive problem across our country, from Colorado to California, from Florida, to Chicago and everywhere in between [...] rather than addressing the fundamental issues and challenges that we face as a country, including gun violence, [House Republicans] instead have chosen to spend their time with former President Trump, and once again, bending the knee to the former president. It's time for Republicans to join us to do the right thing.”
Chairman Mike Thompson: “We all believe that there are things that we can do to make our communities safer, that don't violate anybody's right to own a firearm. And, this is the 165th day of 2024. We've already had 212 mass shootings. So, we have more mass shootings than we have days in the year. Every day, over 100 people in the United States of America die with some sort of firearm involved. Either they're killed by someone using a firearm, they're they accidentally shoot themselves, or someone accidentally shoots them, or they take their own life. And the people on this stage and the rest of our Caucus are working tirelessly to make sure that we can bring about a change in our colleagues who are down bending the knee.”
Congresswoman Kelly: “The toll of gun violence should weigh heavily on all of us. Every year, 43,000 people die from gun violence. Behind each of those deaths, are family members, loved ones, coworkers, friends who miss them every day. Not to speak of the trauma they all have to deal with. We are here to declare once again, enough is enough. It is beyond time for action. We can pass background checks on every gun sale to ensure that guns don't fall into the hands of dangerous people. We can implement safe storage practices to prevent children from unintentionally shooting their parent's guns. [...] We must continue to fund community violence and prevention efforts to address this crisis holistically and get to the root cause of gun violence. The lives of our children, neighbors, and community members are non-negotiable. Inaction is not an option.”
Congresswoman Torres: “It is unfair that we are teaching our children to hide from an active shooter. When I grew up, I was trained to deal with earthquakes. My grandchildren are learning to hide from active shooters. This is not the America that we want to live in, and I hope that our communities, who are being represented by the very people that stand in the way of sensible gun legislation, will stand up and communicate their wishes to their Members of Congress, because we must change, and we must pass [common sense regulations].”
Congressman Frost: “I do feel like for the first time, the gun violence prevention movement is stronger than the gun lobby. That's why the bipartisan Safer Communities Act was passed. That's why we're seeing groundbreaking executive orders come from the White House. That's why we have the Office of Gun Violence Prevention. But when I say that I think the gun violence prevention movement is stronger than the gun lobby, a lot of people say, why haven't you got everything done? Well. You got to study the movement. We have the power now. But it's about sustained power. You don't get everything you want at once, but when you sustain it for a long period of time. [...] So, we're going to keep fighting. I trust, and hopefully a majority will be able to pass the legislation that we need and create a world where the leading cause of death for our children, teens, isn't to be shot. That's the future I want. That's the freedom I want for our people.”
Video of the full press conference can be viewed HERE.