TUCSON–Today, a gunman killed nine people in Dayton, Ohio after opening fire outside a bar in Dayton’s historic district. This comes less than a day after a white supremacist murdered 20 people at a shopping mall in El Paso, Texas. In response, Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva issued the following statement: 

“The scourge of gun violence plaguing our nation reared its ugly head once again this weekend, leaving 29 people dead in its wake in El Paso and Dayton. Our hearts mourn the victims of this senseless tragedy, and our thoughts are with the victims’ families and first responders who will experience this trauma for the rest of their lives. 

“Make no mistake, both of these tragedies were preventable. The gunman in Dayton killed nine people in less than a minute, yet Trump, Mitch McConnell, and other enablers in Congress turn a blind eye to the gun violence crisis that is tearing our communities apart. At this very moment, common-sense gun safety legislation that would mandate universal background checks and close loopholes languishes on McConnell’s desk as scores of innocent people perish from gun violence each and every week. It’s time for Congress to go even further and reinstate the assault weapons ban that will keep these dangerous weapons out of the hands of dangerous individuals. 

“From El Paso to Gilroy and Charleston to Charlottesville, white supremacist ideology is wreaking havoc on communities across the country and is emboldened by the white identity politics and nationalist rhetoric promoted by President Trump. We have a duty to call out these attacks for what they are and condemn Trump and his enablers in Congress who traffic in racism and peddle white supremacy as a political message.”   

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