House panel to examine ‘gun violence crisis’ after shootings in Buffalo, California

Members of a House panel will “examine the gun violence crisis in the United States” during a hearing in June, its chairwoman announced on Thursday.

The hearing before the House Oversight and Reform Committee, scheduled for June 8, comes after recent mass shootings in Buffalo, N.Y., and in California, Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) noted in a statement. 

“This past weekend, from Buffalo, New York to Laguna Woods, California, families lost loved ones to violent acts of hate made more deadly by guns,” Maloney said. 

“As Chairwoman on the Committee on Oversight and Reform, I am committed to using my gavel to continue the Committee’s urgent work to prevent guns from getting into the hands of criminals, secure community spaces, and hold those who fuel the gun violence crisis accountable,” Maloney added.

The hearing comes after 10 people were killed in Buffalo during a mass shooting in a grocery store over the weekend. That shooting is being investigated as a hate crime as the suspect reportedly targeted a predominantly Black neighborhood.

Multiple people were also shot and one person died over the weekend at a church in California in a shooting motivated by political hatred against Taiwan, according to authorities.

Speaking at a White House celebration of Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month on Tuesday, both President Biden and Vice President Harris condemned the violence and hatred seen across the country.

“Hate can have no safe harbor in America. And every person deserves to be treated with dignity and respect,” Biden said at the event.

“We must always speak out against violence, against hate crimes and against discrimination whenever and wherever it occurs. And we must do everything in our power to end this epidemic of hate,” Harris added.

Gun violence continues to plague the country, with a recent analysis from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showing that the U.S. in 2020 saw the highest firearm homicide rate in more than 25 years.

The analysis showed that firearms were involved in 79 percent of all homicides in 2020, an uptick of nearly 35 percent from 2019.