By Jaanvi Kaur
BUFFALO, NY – Buffalo, NY, Mayor Byron Brown stated Sunday he wants to see more “sensible gun control” after the mass shooting Saturday at a local supermarket in Buffalo, leaving 10 people dead and three others injured.
On NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Mayor Brown was asked by moderator Chuck Todd how Congress should address this situation, noting the problem the mayor has faced with lawmakers not listening to his complaints on this issue in the past.
“Well, I would like to see sensible gun control. I would like to see ending hate speech on the internet, on social media. It is not free speech. It is not the American way,” Brown told Todd
“We are not a nation of haters. We are not a nation of hate. We need to send the message that there is no place on the internet for hate speech, for hate indoctrination, for spreading hate manifestos,” added Brown, who added he believes this mass shooting could have been a “turning point” on the problem of hate crimes in the U.S.
Brown said, “I’d like to see real, deliberate action taken on gun control and ending hate speech on the internet. I will be a stronger voice for that. I’ve heard from mayors all over the country in the aftermath of this incident. I’ve heard from mayors, actually, all across the world.”
“And I believe that what happened in Buffalo, New York, yesterday is going to be a turning point. I think it’s going to be different after this in terms of the energy and the activity that we see,” he added.
On Saturday, authorities announced that they will investigate the mass shooting at the supermarket as a hate crime, considering the shooter’s aim was to target Black employees and customers.
Payton Gendron, a white 18-year-old from Conklin, NY, was charged with one count of first-degree murder for the Saturday night mass shooting.
President Biden responded by calling for the end of “hate-fueled domestic terrorism” in the U.S. while expressing his grievances to the families that were affected.
“Any act of domestic terrorism, including an act perpetrated in the name of a repugnant white nationalist ideology, is antithetical to everything we stand for in America. Hate must have no safe harbor. We must do everything in our power to end hate-fueled domestic terrorism,” Biden said.
