Fourth Anniversary of the Tops Supermarket Shooting in Buffalo, New York

Floor Speech

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Mr. LATIMER. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Kennedy for his compassion and his humanity.

This tragedy occurred in Buffalo, and it was a racist crime against Black people in Buffalo. This crime is a crime against humanity, people of all ethnic backgrounds, and it is a crime that could happen in any place across this country.

My home is 375 miles away from the site of this crime. Yet, we, too, are affected by the same policies that have allowed this tragedy to happen.

The young man who committed this crime, motivated by racism and radicalized on the internet, drove 200 miles, half the distance between my home and Congressman Kennedy's home. He drove 200 miles to particularly target this supermarket in an African-American neighborhood. What depth of depravity causes a human being to do that?

All of us, whether our skin is white or black, whether we trace our heritage to Latin America, Asia, the Middle East, or Europe, have to see this as a crime against all humans. It is dehumanizing to take a weapon of mass destruction into a supermarket to kill people who are shopping, who are just there doing the average thing that we all do every day.

As my colleague from Michigan pointed out, there is legislation in this Chamber that needs to become law. It needs to have support not just from people of color but from those of us who represent every area and every demographic in this country. The next victims could be anywhere in this country.

It is important to understand that the people of Buffalo have allies all across New York State. We grieve with them. We stand by our brothers and sisters from Buffalo, as we do those in all the sad places that Congressman Kennedy referenced.

Mr. Speaker, we must make a commitment that, out of this tragedy and on this anniversary, there will be a resolve to make sure this doesn't happen again. We have to act quickly. The efforts to warp people's minds and to convince them that violence is the future of America are moving very quickly, even as those of us who believe in peace and brotherhood have to respond.

I thank Congressman Kennedy for his leadership and friendship.

Mr. KENNEDY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Latimer for his remarks.

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