October 21, 2015

Rep. Ruben Gallego, Rep. Robin Kelly and 38 House Democrats Urge DOJ to Take Action to Reduce Gun Violence in Communities of Color

Washington, DC – Today Congressman Ruben Gallego, Congresswoman Robin Kelly, and 38 Democrats sent a letter to Attorney General Loretta Lynch requesting a meeting to discuss steps that can be taken to address gun violence in minority communities. Gallego and Kelly have previously called on the Attorney General to increase federal enforcement efforts aimed at irresponsible gun dealers who sell weapons to criminals.

Read the letter here.

Signers include Reps. Gallego, Robin Kelly, Butterfield, Chu, Duckworth, Napolitano, Norton, Lee, Honda, Vargas, Moore, Corrine Brown, Lujan Grisham, Grijalva, Lawrence, Edwards, Alma Adams, Rangel, Serrano, Jackson Lee, Hank Johnson, Bennie Thompson, Matsui, Bass, Roybal-Allard, Cárdenas, Watson Coleman, Hastings, Meeks, Lieu, Fudge, Clay, Fattah, Meng, Ellison, Gutiérrez, Sires, Elijah E. Cummings, Carson, Richmond, and Payne.

Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) said, "Republican leadership has shamefully refused to answer the call to act to prevent senseless tragedies like the recent shootings in Oregon and South Carolina. But there is still much that can be done to address the scourge of gun violence, especially in communities of color – including enforcement efforts aimed at the relatively small number of irresponsible gun dealers who sell the vast majority of the guns used in criminal activity. I am committed to working with Attorney General Lynch to find ways to combat the epidemic of gun violence that disproportionately plagues minority communities across the country."ways to combat the epidemic of gun violence that disproportionately plagues minority communities across the country."

Rep. Robin Kelly (D-IL) said, "One of the surest ways to reduce gun violence is to deny sales to those who shouldn't be allowed to purchase a gun. Republican leadership in Congress has made it clear that they will not bring common sense gun violence prevention legislation to the floor for a vote. Therefore, to bring an end to this senseless violence, we must work with Attorney General Lynch and the Department of Justice to craft guidelines and best practices for gun dealers. It's time that gun dealers take responsibility for their products, which have real and deadly consequences when placed in the wrong hands."

Rep. Luis V. Gutiérrez (D-IL) said, "In Chicago, we seem to lose a whole classroom full of children every week to gun violence with forty and fifty shootings in a weekend. The help has to come from the federal level because whatever we do in Chicago, guns are coming from Wisconsin, Indiana, Iowa and other places outside the city. Our communities need action now."