{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://sewell.house.gov/2023/11/rep-sewell-co-signs-letter-to-speaker-johnson-calling-on-house-republican-leadership-to-take-action-on-gun-violence", "Rep. Sewell Co-Signs Letter to Speaker Johnson Calling on House Republican Leadership to Take Action on Gun Violence", "2023-11-02", "2023", "2023-11", "Democrat", "House", "AL", "Terri A. Sewell", "S001185", "sewell.house.gov", "sewell", "https://sewell.house.gov/press-releases", "scraper", "Washington D.C. \u2014 Today, U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell (AL-07) joined House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force Chair Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-04) and 115 Members of Congress in a letter to Speaker Mike Johnson calling on House Republican leadership to take action to address America\u2019s gun violence epidemic.\n\n\u201cGod\u2019s children are being killed every day in our country in part because of the inaction of Republican leadership on gun violence prevention legislation. Families of every faith in America have empty chairs around the dinner table because Republicans have failed to answer our constituents\u2019 prayers for action,\u201d the Members wrote. \u201cIn response to the gun violence crisis, you have called for more thoughts and prayers without a commitment to taking any action to address the bloodshed.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe book of John says that \u2018the good shepherd lays down his life\u2019 for his flock. As Democrats, we are not asking for personal sacrifice, but simply that Republican leadership work with us to enact common sense laws that will save lives. We stand ready to work with you on any policies that will help end gun violence.\u201d\n\nThe full letter can be found here and below.\n\nDear Speaker Johnson,\n\nAs House Democrats, we write about our deep concerns with your troubling comments following the devastating mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine where 18 people were killed and another 13 were injured.\n\nMr. Speaker, our children, God\u2019s children, are being killed every day in our country in part because of the inaction of Republican leadership on gun violence prevention legislation. Families of every faith in America have empty chairs around the dinner table because Republicans have failed to answer our constituents\u2019 prayers for action.\n\nIn response to the gun violence crisis, you have called for more thoughts and prayers without a commitment to taking any action to address the bloodshed. As Speaker, you were quoted as saying, \u201cThis is a dark time in America. We have a lot of problems, and we are hopeful and prayerful. Prayer is appropriate at a time like this, that this senseless violence can stop.\u201d Additionally, during a recent interview about gun violence prevention legislation you said, \u201cAmerica\u2019s problem is not guns. America\u2019s problem is a heart problem.\u201d\n\nThis fatalistic view of gun violence is factually wrong and paints a dark view of America and its people. First, gun violence in America is not inevitable, it is simply tolerated by Republican leadership. Second, gun violence prevention legislation is evidence-based and saves lives. In fact, the state of Louisiana has an \u201cF\u201d rank on the Giffords gun violence scorecard because it fails to enact universal background checks and a red flag law, has weak gun domestic violence laws, and allows assault weapons and large capacity magazines to be sold. Not surprisingly, gun deaths in Louisiana are 99 percent above the national average, second only to Mississippi.\n\nConversely, the states that emphasize responsible gun ownership with strong gun safety laws have the lowest rate of gun violence. Troublingly, more and more of the gun violence in those states is perpetrated by guns that flow in from states with weak gun laws. We need a stronger national floor that protects all Americans from gun violence.\n\nEpidemic levels of gun violence are an American problem because we uniquely allow people who are a danger to themselves or others easy access to firearms. The gun homicide rate in America is 26 times that of other high-income countries. It is outrageous to insinuate that Americans have 26 times the mental health challenges or our fellow Americans\u2019 hearts are 26 times more troubled than our international peers.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T01:01:09Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://sewell.house.gov/2023/11/rep-sewell-co-signs-letter-to-speaker-johnson-calling-on-house-republican-leadership-to-take-action-on-gun-violence"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.691073015332222, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}