Local Lawmakers Call For Congressional Action On Gun Safety Laws
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Several state and city politicians are calling on Congress to pass gun safety reforms.
Democrat Reps. Carolyn Maloney, Nydia Velazquez and Hakeem Jeffries and Jerry Nadler were joined by local representatives on the steps of City Hall Friday to demand action on gun control, WCBS 880's Rich Lamb reported.
Maloney declared it's time to reinstate the ban on assault weapons.
"Hunters don't use them, American's don't use them for self defense, they are only used to kill people," Maloney said. "Why are we allowing them to be sold across America and why are we allowing them to kill more and more innocent people?"
Other representatives denounced Congressional inaction on gun control measures.
"House Republicans gave us a brief moment of silence and then got back to business as usual on the issue of gun violence, which has been to do nothing," Jefferies said.
"No more moments of silence. What this country needs is action," Velazquez said.
The call for change comes after Democratic senator Chris Murphy, of Connecticut, led a nearly 15-hour Senate filibuster before yielding the floor early Thursday, making a pledge that he and his colleagues would press aggressively for more gun control.
Murphy yielded the floor at 2:11 a.m., saying he had won commitments from Republican leaders to hold votes on amendments to expand background checks for firearms sold at gun shows and online retailers and ban gun sales to suspected terrorists.
Democrats have revived the gun debate after 49 people died in the shooting in Orlando last weekend.
