Newtown Action Alliance Statement on the Mass Shooting Incident in Atlanta
For Immediate Release
March 18, 2021
Newtown Action Alliance Statement on the Mass Shooting Incident in Atlanta
Newtown,CT - Po Murray, Chairwoman of Newtown Action Alliance, released the following statement after a 21-year-old white male shot and killed eight people, including six Asian women in three different spas in Atlanta, Georgia on Tuesday, March 16, 2021.
“Our hearts are with the Atlanta community and the Asian American communities all across our nation who are reeling from the mass shooting incident that was fueled by racism, hate, misogyny, and easy access to guns.
“As an Asian American woman with three daughters, I am deeply concerned for the safety of individuals who look like my family. Former President Donald Trump and his allies have endangered Asian Americans by calling coronavirus the “Wuhan Virus”, “China Virus'' and “Kung Flu”. He used Asians as a scapegoat for his failed pandemic response that resulted in 537,000+ COVID-19 deaths. Now, the incidents of hate crimes against Asian Americans are rising and many of us are living in fear.
“Stop AAPI Hate received 3,795 reports of hate incidents from March 19, 2020 to February 28, 2021. The group reported that ‘The number of hate incidents reported to their center represent only a fraction of the number of hate incidents that actually occur, but it does show how vulnerable Asian Americans are to discrimination, and the types of discrimination they face.13,800 hate incidents have been reported against Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders nationwide over the last year.’
“It has been reported that the gunman purchased his gun shortly before the shooting. Yesterday, the House of Representatives successfully passed Representative Sheila Jackson Lee’s Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act. In addition to protecting women from violence, Congress must set higher standards for gun ownership by passing 1) Senator Chris Van Hollen and Representative Jamie Raskin’s bill to offer grants to states to establish permits-to-purchase requirements for handguns and 2) Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi’s bill to require a 3-day waiting period before an individual receives the gun. These measures could have prevented the tragedy in Atlanta.
“Gun violence is a complex problem that requires a comprehensive solution. Many members of Congress have introduced or reintroduced many legislative proposals to end the gun violence crisis in our nation. Now that we have elected a gun safety majority in the House, the Senate and a President who is ready to sign gun violence prevention bills into laws, the House must pass more bills and the Senate must end the filibuster to start passing life-saving gun bills. Failure to act will result in more and more families losing their loved ones and more and more of us will live in fear.”
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Newtown Action Alliance (http://alliance.newtownaction.org/) is a Newtown-based, national grassroots organization formed after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings. Our mission is to achieve the steady and continuous reduction of gun violence through legislative and cultural changes.