The country is in heavy mourning after the shooting in Buffalo by an 18 year-old-white male who claimed the lives of ten people and wounded three others as the suspect sought out Black neighborhoods to target specifically. As the regular course with these tragedies goes, some politicians will call for “thoughts and prayers” and offer no tangible solutions to tackle gun violence or white supremacy-driven crimes.
Congressional Black Caucus Chair Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio) is calling on Congress to take action and move beyond the same old rhetoric with needed action, according to The Hill.
“I am horrified to see another devastating act of hateful gun violence in America. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the thirteen innocent people who lost their lives due to this tragic hate crime,” Beatty said in a statement on Monday.
“This story is not new; we’ve seen this play out repeatedly. But we are very clear, thoughts and prayers are not enough,” she added.
The House passed both the Bipartisan Background Checks Act and the Enhanced Background Checks Act which would background checks on firearm sales and transfers. Senate Republicans have blocked a request to proceed to legislation. Rep. Beatty says that the filibuster needs to be abolished to get these initiatives through.
“There must be accountability for hate, there must be criminal justice reform, and there must be common-sense gun reform. That is why Democrats in the House passed sweeping legislation to address these glaring issues,” Beatty wrote.
“The Senate must abolish the Jim Crow era filibuster and pass the legislation that will save the lives of innocent Americans. We owe it to the victims, their families, and all Americans to take action,” she added.
Beatty notes that racial animus drives harmful actions, and white supremacy should be considered hate crimes. “Vigilantes acting with racial animus and espousing white supremacist ideology that results in the loss of innocent lives must be classified as a hate crime, full stop,” Beatty said.