Rep. Janice Hahn, who represents parts of Long Beach, released a statement today calling on House speaker Paul Ryan to allow for a vote on gun measures intended to deter future attacks.
In the statement, Hahn mourned for the Orlando victims and members of the LGBT community and lamented the nation’s stalled efforts to pass legislation aimed at deterring such attacks.
“The American people are angry, anxious, and afraid, and they have good reason to be,” said Hahn. “This is the deadliest in a long list of recent attacks. Yet, after each mass shooting many of my Republican colleagues have stood in the way of efforts to protect Americans from the next one.”
She urged Ryan to allow Congress to vote on the gun measures such as banning assault weapons.
“The gunman, Omar Mateen, used a military-style assault weapon to single-handedly shoot 102 people—a weapon which has no place in our neighborhoods and which he would not have been able to buy had we passed the Assault Weapons Ban introduced by Congressman David Cicilline,” stated Hahn. “This attack is being investigated as homegrown terror, and yet we also continue to allow members of the terror watch list to legally buy firearms.”
She closed with a quote urging action over memorials.
“Moments of silence are not enough to honor the victims we have lost and do nothing to protect us from future attacks,” she stated. “I am calling on Speaker Ryan to finally allow us to vote on legislation to ban military style assault weapons and prevent suspected terrorists from purchasing firearms.”