NYC Mayor Adams holds gun violence prevention talks as congressional action hangs in balance
Mayor Adams met with faith leaders and elected officials from across the state Tuesday to discuss what they can do to crack down on gun violence, as congressional action on the high-stakes issue once again hangs in the balance in the wake of a rash of mass shootings.
First up, Adams participated in a virtual meeting with seven other New York mayors, gun violence prevention activists, a county executive and the mother of a victim of a 2018 Florida school shooting.
Most speakers acknowledged there is action that can be taken on a local level to curb gun violence, including allocating more resources for mental health treatment and social programs, like the crisis management teams used to prevent street crime in New York City. But they also all agreed that the onus for action first and foremost lies with Congress, where a long list of gun control bills have stalled for years due to a refusal by Republicans to consider them.
“There must be a national approach to this. There must be national solutions,” Adams said in the meeting, which was convened by Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams speaks about guns confiscated at city public schools during a news conference at NYPD headquarters in Manhattan, New York on May 25, 2022. (Spencer Platt/)
Buffalo, New York’s second largest city, is still reeling from the racist May 14 mass shooting at a Tops grocery store that left 10 Black people dead. Just 10 days after the Buffalo tragedy, another gunman stormed into an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, and fatally shot 19 children and two teachers.
The teen suspects in both shootings wielded legally obtained AR-15-style assault rifles, according to police.
The massacres have prompted renewed calls for Congress to enact stricter federal gun laws, with Democrats on Capitol Hill pushing a variety of proposals, from outlawing assault rifles to tightening federal background check requirements for weapon purchases. There are also legislative proposals on the table focused on beefing up law enforcement around guns.
Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown speaks during a press conference about the shooting at a supermarket on Sunday in Buffalo, New York on May 15, 2022. (Joshua Bessex/)
Brown, who met with Adams while he was in Buffalo over the weekend to honor the victims of the Tops shooting, noted that New York has among the strictest gun laws in the country.
But he said the Empire State can on its own only do so much to restrict the proliferation of firearms, especially as the conservative-leaning Supreme Court could strike down a key state gun restriction in coming weeks.
“Gun violence is not just a Buffalo or New York State problem — it’s a national crisis,” Brown said.
In a pointed reference to a phrase often uttered by Republican lawmakers after mass shootings, Mount Vernon Mayor Shawyn Patterson-Howard chimed in, “Thoughts and prayers are no longer enough. We need to take action.”
People hug outside the scene after a shooting at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York on May 14, 2022. (Joshua Bessex/)
Later in the day, Adams attended a virtual meeting with clergy members that was moderated by Gilford Monrose, a Brooklyn pastor who serves as the mayor’s faith adviser.
While reiterating that he believes Congress must “do more,” Adams told faith leaders that the “power of prayer” can also be an antidote to gun violence.
“Every house of worship this weekend [should] hold a sermon on what we must do,” the mayor said.
A bipartisan group of U.S. senators were expected to hold a Zoom call Tuesday to discuss a potential path for passing some sort of gun control legislation when Congress returns to session on June 6.
The Senate poses the biggest roadblock for Democratic hopes of gun control since at least 10 Republicans in that chamber would need to support any given bill for it to pass. Unlike the Senate, Democrats in the House can pass legislation without any support from their GOP colleagues.
Flowers and candles are placed around crosses at a memorial outside Robb Elementary School to honor the victims killed in this week's school shooting in Uvalde, Texas on Saturday, May 28, 2022. (Jae C. Hong/)
Linda Beigel Schulman, the mother of Scott Beigel, a teacher who was among 17 people killed in a February 2018 mass shooting at a high school in Parkland, Fla., choked back tears as she accused Senate Republicans of “holding the entire country hostage” by refusing to back new gun laws.
“Our lives will never be the same,” Schulman said in the meeting with Adams and other elected officials.
By contrast, Adams offered a grain of optimism over the fact that senators are talking about the prospect of gun control.
“We take our hats off to the senators who are meeting today to have a real dialogue defined by bipartisanship to address these issues,” he said.
