STATEMENT FROM BBT EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR DANIELLE MELFI ON NATIONAL GUN VIOLENCE AWARENESS DAY

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 3, 2022
PRESS CONTACT: [email protected]

STATEMENT FROM BBT EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR DANIELLE MELFI ON NATIONAL GUN VIOLENCE AWARENESS DAY

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Building Back Together Executive Director Danielle Melfi released the following statement in recognition of National Gun Violence Awareness Day:

“This year, we mark National Gun Violence Awareness Day in the wake of horrifying mass shootings at a grocery store in a predominantly Black neighborhood in Buffalo, New York, a shooting at an elementary school in the predominantly Latino community of Uvalde, Texas, and a shooting at a hospital complex in Tulsa, Oklahoma, just two days ago that – like so many before them – left innocent people dead and countless loved ones grieving immeasurable loss. There is no pain like the death of a loved one; gun violence has brought that pain on countless communities across the country for far too long.

“The epidemic of gun violence in America is made all the more horrifying by inexcusable inaction on the part of Republicans in Congress, who have failed to act on common-sense gun safety measures to protect our communities. The year is not even halfway over, and already we have lost more than 17,000 lives to gun violence – in 2020, it was the leading cause of death among children in America. How many more deaths will Republicans in Congress tolerate before they stand up to the gun lobby? As President Biden said last night, he is committed to signing gun safety legislation if Congress sends it to his desk. We cannot afford to wait any longer.”

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