Words Do Have Consequences!!

By Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson

No matter how much some  people argue that it is untrue, there is a strong nexus between repulsive language used in public by elected officials and their supporters and the carnage caused by hate-filled young men, armed with assault rifles, who brazenly entered a retail store in El Paso, Texas  and  an entertainment district in Dayton, Ohio and  slaughtered twenty- nine innocent men, women and children. People that never harmed them in any way!

• Moments prior to the El Paso shooting, a manifesto reportedly written by the shooter appeared online.
• It contained hatred for people of Hispanic origin and immigrants, stating that they were a threat to the stability of America.

• It expressed sentiments similar to those used by a candidate in the 2016 presidential election.
• The shooters were able to kill as many people as they did because they used semi-automatic weapons  which have no place in the hands of civilians.  They were designed for use in combat,  and that is where they should remain.

The Democratic-led House has, with my support, passed bipartisan legislation to ensure comprehensive background checks. Now the Senate must act, and I call on Senator McConnell to bring the bill to the floor of the Senate without delay.

The Congress must also take up legislation that bands the possession and use of  ‘weapons  of war’ by members of the public.

We must implement sensible gun legislation such as the federal assault weapons ban that was signed into law by former president Bill Clinton in 1994,  and which lasted until 2004 when the administration of President George W. Bush and Republicans in Congress allowed it to lapse.

Subsequent attempts by Democrats in Congress and by President Barack Obama to reinstate the assault weapons ban were unsuccessful largely due to the overwhelming influence that the National Rifle Association had- and continues to have- over Republican members of Congress and Republican presidents.

This occurred even though polls of the American people demonstrated  that the electorate overwhelmingly was,  and continues to be, in favor of  common-sense gun laws.

The family members and loved ones of those who were killed in El Paso,  and in Dayton, as well as the families of the hundreds of people who have been killed by gunmen in mass shootings that have taken place in America since the beginning of this year are weary of elected officials offering their  “thoughts and prayers.”

It is without question that the public demands meaningful action that will take assault weapons out of the hands of deranged individuals and groups.

People of common sense desire to live in a country where no one  is considered less human or  more valuable than any other. And where human life is sacred!