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

Floor Speech

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Mrs. McBATH. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Kennedy for gathering us here this evening on this very somber anniversary. He truly is honoring his community in Buffalo very well. I actually have family members in his district. He is their Member of Congress.

Four years ago, 10 innocent people lost their lives in an act of hate at a place that we all know very well. We frequent our grocery stores all the time. A man decided that a group of people just simply didn't deserve to live because of the color of their skin.

The shooter in Buffalo used an assault weapon so that he could kill as many people as possible in as little time as possible. We should all think that this is absolutely horrifying.

Thankfully, though, he was brought to justice because our justice system took action and sentenced him to life in prison, where he is now. The families of these grandmothers, fathers, sons, and sisters were actually able to take solace in knowing that something was done to ensure this man would never harm their communities again.

My heart remains with all the families as they remember their loved ones. I still pray for every single family of every tragedy because I know exactly how they feel. That is what continues to drive me to action.

These families deserve better. Every family that we lose across this Nation deserves better. No one should be subjected to violence while they go about their daily lives, running errands, going to church, going to the movie theater, going to school, or going to festivities.

Weapons of war simply do not belong on our streets. They don't belong in our churches and definitely not in our grocery stores.

The assault weapons ban, which I have held since 2023, has proven to prevent death by firearms. I have also introduced the GOSAFE Act, a lifesaving bill that focuses on the internal operations of semiautomatic guns, not the cosmetic components that gun sellers tend to modify to find loopholes.

It is so far past time that we pass both of these bills and so many other pieces of good, comprehensive gun safety legislation to save lives and to ensure that no more families experience the excruciating pain of losing their loved ones in a senseless act of gun violence.

This country deserves better. Our kids deserve better. The victims of this senseless shooting, they deserve better, every one of them. These pictures, these human beings deserved better, and they should be with us right now enjoying their lives today. These men and these women, they deserve to see their grandchildren and children growing up, to make their own marks in the world.

The Gun Violence Prevention Task Force and Democrats have made progress towards a safer country with helping to pass historic legislation, but we have got to continue to stand for gun safety in this country.

We are not going to forget those that were lost in Buffalo, and I assure you I will not forget my son who was killed from unnecessary gun violence. I will not forget all the children at Sandy Hook, and I will not forget all the children at Parkland, and I will most certainly not forget the everyday gun violence and people that are dying in our communities every day. Nobody even knows their names. They don't get the big headlines in the newspaper. No one talks about them nationally, but their families suffer in silence. We are not going to forget those that were lost in Buffalo, and we are going to continue to fight to end gun violence because hate absolutely has no place in this country.

Mr. KENNEDY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congresswoman McBath for her extraordinary courage and leadership in taking that pain of hers and her family's and turning it into triumph and turning it into positive action for our communities and our Nation. We are indebted to her.

Mr. Speaker, I now yield to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Ivey).

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