Representative Veronica Escobar (D-TX) said Tuesday 0n CNN’s “New Day” that in the wake of the mass shooting inside a Boulder, CO supermarket, the U.S. Senate must eliminate the filibuster rule to pass gun control legislation.
Anchor Alisyn Camerota asked, “Is there any reason this morning for any of us to think that this time will be different, this time Congress would do something to stop the epidemic of mass shootings and gun violence?”
Escobar said, “I first want to say, my heart goes out to everyone in Boulder and in Colorado because this is not the first horrible, violent attack on their community. So they’ve lived through a lot. You know, in the Congress, the House of Representatives last week, for the second time, we passed two important initial pieces on gun violence prevention. The problem is in the Senate. Even with the slim majority, because of the filibuster, it’s going to be very, very difficult to get anything done.”
She continued, “We need to do away with the filibuster. What we’re seeing happening in America is Republicans in the Senate are more interested in eroding voting laws and increasing gun rights when really it should be the other way around. We need to look at making sure that we have safe communities and that people aren’t afraid and terrified of going to the grocery store or going to a school. And the majority of Americans support common-sense gun violence prevention legislation, but we can’t get anything done in the Senate because a majority doesn’t rule. It’s the filibuster that rules.”
She added, “The inaction that’s occurred is costing people their lives. El Paso knows only too well. We suffered a horrific attack on our community on August 3rd, 2019. I had hoped that that would have been a wake-up call, not just on gun violence but on our hate epidemic in this country. But if Congress can’t act or won’t act because of one vehicle, which is the filibuster, let’s do away with it and give the American public —the majority of the American public the reform that they’re asking for.”
Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN
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