B’nai B’rith International decried the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas in which an 18-year old murdered 19 children and two teachers at an elementary school on Tuesday, calling for “sensible gun reform” measures to be put in place to prevent future gun violence.
“What will be the tipping point for our country to finally act on sensible gun reform measures?” B’nai B’rith President Seth J. Riklin and CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin said in a statement.
Noting that there have been 212 mass shooting so far in 2022, not including daily gun violence in cities and towns, Riklin and Mariaschin charged that the U.S. is “paralyzed by an irrational fear of taking action to stop this plague.”
“But what about the fear now growing in more and more of our citizens: fear of going to school, of attending services at a house of worship, fear of stepping into a grocery store or a movie theater?” they asked. “Our hearts ache for the victims and the families of this massacre. And for all of those who have been touched by gun violence.”
They called the issue “a uniquely American problem.”
“Is there ever going to be a red line, an act of gun violence so heinous that lawmakers finally enact sensible gun reform measures? We would have thought we crossed that line long ago. Will this massacre, this time, be the tipping point?”
While admitting that new measures won’t stop all gun violence, they said it was a good starting point.
“Of course, sensible gun reform won’t stop all gun violence. But we need to start someplace. It is well past time to take that step forward,” they said.
“We call on Congress to unite on this issue. We need sensible gun reform measures now.”