Hoyer Statement on the 5th Anniversary of the Tucson Mass Shooting

Statement

House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer (MD) released the following statement today on the 5th anniversary of the tragic shooting of former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords and 17 other Americans in Tucson, Arizona:

"Five years ago, a deranged gunman took six lives and wounded twelve others at a constituent outreach event in Tucson, Arizona. Among the wounded was my dear friend Gabby Giffords. The victims of the attack had come to participate in one of the oldest traditions of our democracy -- the right to assemble and engage with their elected representative to ensure their voices are heard. Throughout her service in Congress, Gabby worked hard to make sure that the people of Arizona's Eighth District had a Representative they could trust and could count on to have their backs in Washington, and that was what she was doing when a horrific act of gun violence nearly took her life.

"Since that day, Gabby has made an extraordinary recovery, and while she chose to retire from service in the House, she has continued to serve the people of Arizona and this nation as a leader and an advocate for commonsense gun safety. Along with her husband, Mark Kelly, she has traveled the country to raise awareness and launch a dialogue about the need to turn broad consensus among the public, victims of gun violence, and responsible gun owners into meaningful action. With the President's executive actions earlier this week, we've taken an important step forward, but it is not enough. Only Congress can take the action necessary to keep firearms out of the hands of those who cannot use them responsibly.

"Since New Year's Day just over a week ago, more than 220 people in this country have already been killed by gun violence, beginning a tragic tally of the more than 30,000 who are expected to die from gun violence this year. As Gabby and Mark and the thousands of victims and family members standing with them have reminded us, many of these deaths could be prevented if Congress were to close the loopholes in our laws that enable violent criminals, the severely mentally ill, and those on terror watch lists from being able to purchase dangerous firearms legally without a background check. That must continue to be our unrelenting goal, and it's an issue Congress has no legitimate excuse to ignore. I hope that Democrats and Republicans, inspired by our friend Gabby and all those whose lives have been impacted by the tragedy of gun violence, can come together this year to pass legislation to make our country safer."

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