Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair on Buffalo Shooting

Representative Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, issued the following statement in response to the mass shooting in Buffalo, N.Y.:

"The Progressive Caucus joins with all those grieving in the aftermath of last night's deadly shooting in Buffalo. We are devastated for the families of the victims and those injured, and for every Black American who woke up this morning with another horrific reminder of the ever-present threat of white supremacy.

"It is clear that this shooter was motivated by that racist and antisemitic ideology, and targeted the Black community in Buffalo. We have seen these kinds of attacks too many times in recent years, including the shooting in Charleston, as well as against other racial and religious minorities, including in El Paso, Atlanta, and Pittsburgh. But Buffalo is also part of a long American history of white supremacist violence. It belongs to the same tradition as thousands of lynchings, as the bombings of Philadelphia and Tulsa, as decades of racist policy that have been used to deny Black Americans their full civil and human rights.

"We must address white supremacy as the crisis it is, or the death toll will only continue to climb. That means advancing Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (TX-18)'s H.R. 40 to establish a commission on reparations for slavery, and passing Rep. Barbara Lee (CA-13)'s Resolution to form the first U.S. Commission on Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation.

"And, Congress must remove one of the deadliest options from white supremacy's arsenal, and limit the guns available to those who would harm their neighbors, particularly with weapons of war. The Senate must take up the common-sense gun violence prevention bill passed more than a year ago in the House of Representatives, and if necessary, vote to reform the filibuster so it can become law. For too long, Senate Republicans have stood in the way of lifesaving legislation, and a Jim Crow-era procedure has let them. That must end."