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As Buffalo Mourns the Loss of 3-Year-Old Ramone Carter, Congressman Kennedy Calls for Congress to Act on Gun Violence

Push Comes as Surgeon General Declares Firearm Violence a National Public Health Crisis Noting Progress Made in New York, Kennedy Says Congress Must Act to Save Lives Across the Nation

Washington, June 26, 2024

WASHINGTON, D.C—Congressman Tim Kennedy (NY-26) took to the floor of the House of Representatives calling for federal action in response to the gun violence killing innocent children and people in communities across the nation. In his remarks, Kennedy cited the devastating impact of the supermarket mass shooting and the young victims caught in the line of fire recently in Buffalo.

 

Kennedy speaking on House Floor

Video: https://youtu.be/Gv9IzEgFAEM

 

Rep. Kennedy, a member of the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, said in part, “gun violence is an epidemic in our country, one that requires a national response. In May 2022, a racist domestic terrorist opened fire in the Tops Supermarket on Jefferson Avenue in Buffalo, in the heart of our community, stealing the lives of ten innocent souls and severely wounding three others. And just last Friday, a beautiful 3-year-old boy, Ramone L. Carter, was riding his tricycle when he was struck and killed by a bullet. His older sister, Jamia Griffin, age 7, was also grazed and was hospitalized. …Grocery store patrons and employees being slaughtered, children, toddlers being murdered, police being shot—it cannot continue. …And when you can’t send your kid to school, your loved one to the grocery store, or simply sit outside without fear of gun violence, we need Congress to act. …As a parent and as a community member who has been to far, far too many funerals due to gun violence, I implore my colleagues to work with us to pass these policies and make this a safer country.”

Congressman Kennedy’s remarks come during Gun Violence Awareness Month and in the wake of U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy declaring firearm violence “a public health crisis in America.” The 40-page report notes that firearm related injury is now “the leading cause of death for U.S. children and adolescents (ages 1-19), surpassing motor vehicle crashes, cancer, and drug overdose and poisoning.”

Kennedy is a co-sponsor of the Bipartisan Background Checks Act (HR715) and the Assault Weapons Ban (HR689), and co-lead sponsor of the Aaron Salter, Jr. Responsible Body Armor Possession Act (HR3247). 

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