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America is also reeling from another urgent crisis: a rash of horrific mass shootings, including in Buffalo, New York, Uvalde, Texas and now Highland Park, Illinois. In May alone, our nation suffered more than 60 mass shootings – tragedies that could’ve been prevented, or at least made less deadly, by gun safety measures the vast majority of Americans support. The House and Senate recently delivered a bipartisan gun safety bill to President Biden for his signature. That package is now law – but that doesn’t mean our work is over. Far from it. I will continue to fight for a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, stronger red flag laws, universal background checks, and more. I am also continuing to champion legislation that would hold gun manufacturers and sellers financially responsible when they act negligently and their products are used to inflict carnage.
As I work in Congress to protect the country from the tragedy of gun violence, the Supreme Court's rulings are working against us, as they recently struck down state limitations on the circumstances in which people can carry concealed weapons. This decision, departing from decades of precedent, wasn’t the worst example of the current Court ignoring settled law to force a dangerous and backward agenda on the country.
Like many of you, I was heartbroken over their decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, which upended decades of progress, threatening the safety and reproductive rights of women everywhere. You have probably seen the story of a pregnant ten year old now forced to leave the state where she resides to get reproductive care, without facing charges over ending a pregnancy that was the result of rape. This shameful result of the Court’s decision will be one among too many to count. But Congress is not powerless to act in the face of this assault on access to health care. Congress must abolish the filibuster, codify Roe, expand the Supreme Court, and make other reforms to protect our rights.
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