ICYMI - Ahead Of Anniversary Of Pulse Night Club And Charleston Church Shootings, Mucarsel-Powell Leads Community In Calling On Republican-Controlled Senate To Pass Bipartisan Gun Safety Bills

Press Release

This week, on Tuesday, June 9, ahead of the anniversary of the Pulse nightclub shooting and Charleston church shooting,U.S. Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (FL-26),Vice Chair of the Gun Violence Prevention TaskForce, led a virtual press conference with South Florida survivors of gun violence and community leaders to call on the Republican-controlled Senate to pass H.R. 8,the Bipartisan Background Checks Act, and H.R. 1112,the Enhanced Background Check Act.

Mucarsel-Powell was joined by Maria Jose Wright, who lost her son, Jerry Wright, in the Pulse nightclub shooting. She was also be joined by Fred Guttenberg, who lost his daughter, Jaime Guttenberg, in the Parkland shooting; Romania Dukes, a mother who lost her son, De'Michael Dukes, to a stray bullet; and Pastor Beverly Coffey from Mt. Herman African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME) Church who addressed the Charleston AME Church shooting.

Video of the virtual press conference is available to download here.

Mucarsel-Powell's remarks, as delivered, are below:

Thank you so much for joining us today. Thank you Fred, Maria Jose "MJ", Romania, Reverend for joining us.

This is a solemn day. We stand gathered today mostly in memory of the 49 lives that we lost at the Pulse nightclub on June 12th, four years ago, in 2016, and the 9 lives that we lost in Charleston on June 17th, five years ago, 2015.

And while we're here in honor of their memory, we also cannot forget the nearly 100 people who lose their lives every single day due to gun violence.

I know this pain personally. I lost my father to gun violence and it was a traumatic event that really changed my life forever. And I think of him all the time. It's a memory that I carry in my heart. And I miss him terribly, especially during these difficult moments that we're going through right now.

I think of my friend, MJ, and her family who lost their son Jerry in the Pulse nightclub shooting.

I also think about Fred. I've talked to him many times about the loss of his beautiful daughter, Jamie. He lost Jamie at the Parkland shooting.

And about Romania, and how her son De'Michael deserves to be here today.

We are living in a society that is plagued by gun violence. Our country has a culture of gun violence.

The reality is that too many of our sons, our daughters, our friends, our parents have suffered the painful trauma that comes with this epidemic.

Weapons that are used by our military on the streets of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan to kill the enemies of America, are being used right here at home to kill Americans.

And our laws have made it easier and easier for almost anyone to be able to buy and purchase a dangerous weapon.

And that means that no one is safe from gun violence.

We worry about our friends who go out to a club.

We worry about our children and sending them to school and being attacked in their classrooms.

We know that places of worship now are not safe spaces anymore.

People going about their everyday lives, going to shopping malls, supermarkets, movie theaters, and concerts. Everyone has the worry that at any moment someone can come and take their life by a senseless act of violence.

This pain, the pain of the survivors of gun violence feel is preventable. We can do something about this.

And the House has acted.

We've passed H.R. 8 with bipartisan support to ensure that background checks are conducted on every gun purchase. We've also passed legislation, H.R. 1112, to close the "Charleston loophole" that allowed the Charleston shooting to happen.

Now, we have these bills sitting in the Senate. They're bipartisan bills.

We know that most Americans support these bills and want action.

They're sitting on Senator Mitch McConnell's [desk]. We passed these bills over a year ago, but Mitch McConnell refuses to address the gun violence that is plaguing our society today. Likewise, President Trump said he would address gun violence -- but he has done absolutely nothing.

We're not going to stop. We're in this fight because it is hard. We're in this fight together.

It is the time for courage.

And it is the time to demand that our leaders listen to our voices.

I know that standing here with Fred, and MJ, and Romania, we can bring about change.

Thank you.

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