WASHINGTON – Today, Damon Hewitt, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, released this statement following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen:
“At a time when we have more guns than people in this country, and when gun violence and mass shootings are at historic and horrific levels, the Supreme Court has now kneecapped efforts to get this problem under control.
Gun violence disproportionately leads to the deaths of people of color, with Black Americans ten times more likely than white Americans to die from gun violence. Given the fact that hate crimes targeting Black and Asian Americans have also jumped in recent years, continued loosening of gun laws is especially alarming. On the heels of a string of horrific mass shootings in Buffalo, Uvalde, Dallas, Tulsa and Laguna Woods, all of which devastated communities of color, the last thing our country needs is less gun safety.
The threat of gun violence in our country is almost paralyzing. Our most important and sacred public gathering places have been sites of mass killings. Parents are now terrified to send their children to school, churchgoers are hesitant to worship openly, and shopping is a dangerous activity.
Justice Alito’s concurring opinion is also troubling, dismissing the pain of Black communities by saying New York’s gun law did not prevent a white supremacist from murdering Black people at a grocery store in Buffalo and would not stop similar killings elsewhere. This is precisely the type of twisted logic the gun lobby loves to see. If anything, the horror in Buffalo suggests the need for more legislation and regulation on guns–not less.”
