Assistant Leader Neguse, Gun Violence Prevention Leaders: “We are ready to work in good faith with anyone to address what is clearly a pervasive problem across our country.”
Washington, D.C. — This week, House Assistant Minority Leader Joe Neguse and Gun Violence Prevention Task Force Chair Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-04) and Vice Chair Rep. Lucy McBath (GA-7) hosted a Special Order Hour in honor of National Gun Violence Prevention Awareness Month. Assistant Leader Neguse also joined the Task Force leaders in supporting Rep. McBath’s discharge petition on the Federal Extreme Risk Protection Order Act, a bill to enact a federal “red flag” law.
Assistant Leader Neguse: “Mr. Speaker, in a country where gun violence is the leading cause of death among children. I'll repeat that to let it sink in. That gun violence is the leading cause of death among children in the United States. It comes as no surprise that today, the Surgeon General declared that gun violence in America now constitutes a public health crisis.
My district, Mr. Speaker, has been acutely impacted by that crisis, by the pain of the gun violence epidemic. A gunman walked into a local grocery store in Boulder, Colorado, he killed and murdered 10 of our beloved community members including a police officer who made the ultimate sacrifice, and died in the line of duty. This tragedy and the shockwaves that this tragedy and the shock waves across my state serve as a reminder why we as a Congress cannot abandon our mission to end this epidemic.
And my community, Mr. Speaker, is not alone. From Uvalde to Buffalo, from Parkland to Sandy Hook, to every corner of our country there are communities just like ours, families devastated by the pain and anguish caused by gun violence, Members, as you've heard, of this very chamber who have experienced devastating loss as a result of this epidemic. But it is with those we've lost in our hearts and at the forefront of our minds that we remain committed to ensuring that we turn such anguish into action.
Two years ago today, as you heard, Mr. Speaker, many of us joined President Biden at the White House. I remember going to the White House with my colleague, Representative McBath, to celebrate the enactment of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which Representative McBath, Representative Robin Kelly, Representative Horsford, so many of the leaders who you'll hear from tonight, Representative Stevens and others, had worked to get across the finish line. The most significant and consequential gun violence prevention legislation that we've seen in decades.
Through this bill we were able to enact improved and enhanced background checks, protect domestic violence survivors, expand community violence intervention programs, and support improved mental health services across the country. Mr. Speaker, we know that legislating works.
So, I'm here today with leaders like Representative Kennedy of Buffalo and Representative Manning from North Carolina and Representative Stevens and Representative McBath and so many others to repeat the call that House Democrats have made time and time again — to say that we are ready to work in good faith with anyone to address what is clearly a pervasive problem across our country, to advance common sense reforms that we know will save lives.
It is time for our colleagues on the other side of the aisle, for House Republicans to do the same — to work with us — because inaction is no longer an option. Again, I thank Representative McBath, I thank Representative Thompson and the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force for their work in addressing our most basic charge as members of this body. Which is to keep Americans safe.”
For a full video of the Assistant Leader’s remarks, click HERE.
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