Members of the congressional delegation representing Columbus are calling for unity in the aftermath of two mass shootings within a 24-hour period over the weekend that killed at least 31 people and wounded dozens more.
Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill are calling for action — Democrats want to pass gun-control legislation, while Republicans have focused on mental health and violent video games.
The calls for action come after a gunman opened fire in a shopping complex on Saturday morning in the Texas border city of El Paso, Texas, killing at least 22 people and wounding more than two dozen. Hours later, a gunman wearing body armor opened fire in a popular nightlife area in Dayton, Ohio, killing nine people and injuring at least 26 others.
The attack in El Paso is being handled as domestic terrorism, and the alleged gunman, 21-year-old Patrick Crusius, was booked on capital murder charges, according to The Associated Press. Authorities are investigating the attack as a possible hate crime and believe that Crusius posted an anti-immigrant creed online shortly before the attack. The Dayton shooter was killed by responding officers, and his motives are still unclear.
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Sen. Mike Braun, R-Ind., voiced support for President Donald Trump’s call for bipartisan solutions to the epidemic of gun violence afflicting the country and said it would be “unacceptable” if Congress did nothing to address the crisis.
“Mass shootings and gun violence across our country is a complex situation; watching Congress do nothing is unacceptable, and I agree with President Trump’s call for bipartisan legislation to address this crisis,” Braun said in the statement, which was posted on his website Monday.
“Any bipartisan legislation needs to include: stronger background checks, red flag laws known as extreme risk protection orders that address mental illness, common sense solutions that complement the Trump administration’s ban on bump stocks so we can crack down on modifications that turn guns into military-style assault weapons and steps that are responsive to a culture that glorifies violence. …(T)he tone and destructive rhetoric across the ideological spectrum is tearing our country apart and we must return to a society that works towards finding common ground on issues where we disagree.”
When asked by The Republic what he meant by “common sense solutions,” Braun issued another statement.
“Previously introduced proposals have failed to become law because they do not have sufficient bipartisan support; but I think we can all find common ground,” Braun said. “President Trump’s remarks offer a fresh opportunity for a bipartisan, comprehensive solution and I believe that includes strengthening our background checks to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and the dangerously mentally ill in a way that gets the support of the White House and Congress, while protecting the rights of law-abiding citizens.”
Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., has issued two statements on his website. In the first statement, posted on Sunday, the senator said that the nation must “do more” to address racially motivated violence, hate, mental illness and the “loss of respect for human life.”
“We are all heartbroken for the victims of these terrible acts of hate,” Young said. “I pray for those who were injured and for the families of those who lost loved ones. And I am sincerely grateful to the first responders and law enforcement officers who acted swiftly. There is no place in this country for hate of any kind — period. The president rightfully spoke out against acts of racially-motivated violence and we must, as a nation, do more. That starts by grappling with the underlying disease in our communities: ideologies of hate, mental derangement, and a loss of respect for human life.”
Young issued another statement on Monday, calling on the nation to “work together” the “challenges” of hate, social alienation and the “devaluing of human life.”
“Clearly we have multiple problems in this country — problems of hate, social alienation, and the devaluing of human life — and we’re going to have to work together as a nation to address these challenges,” Young said. “I think Indiana has done a good job with respect to our red flag law and that’s something that needs to be part of the conversation moving forward across the country.”
Passed in 2005, Indiana’s red flag law allows law enforcement officers to seize and retain firearms from mentally unstable or dangerous individuals.
Rep. Greg Pence, R-Ind., issued a public statement on Twitter on Monday, after The Republic inquired about his response.
“It is now time for all of us to come together and take action against evil and hate,” Pence said in the statement. “Thank you to the swift response by law enforcement and first responders in El Paso and Dayton, who saved countless lives by putting their own on the line.”
All three congressmen have received contributions from the National Rifle Association, according to campaign finance records.
On Aug. 13, 2018, Braun received a $4,950 contribution from the National Rifle Association of America Political Victory Fund. Pence received a $2,500 contribution on June 30, 2018 from the same fund.
From 2011 to 2016, Young received eight contributions totaling $24,300 from the National Rifle Association of America Political Victory Fund. Young was the U.S. Representative for Indiana’s 9th congressional district from 2011 to 2017. He was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2016 and took office the following year.
The NRA issued a statement welcoming President Trump’s call to address the root causes of the shootings, and also extended its deepest sympathies with the families and the victims and the communities of El Paso and Dayton. The NRA also saluted the courage of the first responders and those helping in the aftermath.
“The NRA is committed to the safe and lawful use of firearms by those exercising their Second Amendment freedoms. We will not participate in the politicizing of these tragedies, but, as always, we will work in good faith to pursue real solutions that protect us all from people who commit these horrific acts,” the NRA said in the statement.
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Rep. Greg Pence, R-Ind.
Constituents can visit pence.house.gov/contact or call 202-225-3021 to contact Pence’s office.
Sen. Mike Braun, R-Ind.
Braun’s office can be reached at 202-224-4814 or by visiting braun.senate.gov/contact-mike.
Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind.
Young’s office can be contacted at young.senate.gov/contact/email-todd or by calling 202-224-5623.
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The two mass shootings over the weekend were the latest in a country that has seen 255 mass shootings during the first 217 days of 2019, according to Gun Violence Archive, an independent not-for-profit data collection and research group that provide data on gun-related violence.
From Jan. 1 to Aug. 5, 274 people in the United States were killed and 1,066 others have wounded in mass shootings, according to Gun Violence Archive.
The group defines a mass shooting as any shooting in which four or more people are injured, not including the shooter, in one location.
As of Aug. 5, there had been seven mass shootings in Indiana — four in Indianapolis and one each in Evansville, Muncie and South Bend, according to Gun Violence Archive.
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