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Payne, Jr. attends Pittsburgh Roundtable to discuss Solutions to Gun Violence

September 5, 2019
For Immediate Release Media Contact:
September 5, 2019 Patrick Wright
(202) 225-3436
Patrick.Wright@mail.house.gov

Congressman Donald M. Payne, Jr.'s Statement on the Pittsburgh Homeland Security Roundtable
Washington, D.C. — Congressman Donald M. Payne, Jr. participated in a roundtable on September 4 for the House Committee on Homeland Security in Pittsburgh. He issued the following statement about what he learned from city officials regarding how they have dealt with mass shootings and domestic terrorism one year after a domestic terrorist killed 11 worshippers at a local synagogue.
"We have to get the American people and leaders to acknowledge the issue of domestic terrorism and gun violence. This issue is one that affects me deeply as gun violence has claimed too many innocent lives in my district and across the country. It's time to look inward and understand that we have a problem in the homeland.
I was impressed with the ideas that came out of that roundtable. I agree with the recommendations of the Pittsburgh city officials that we need to start with some level of gun control, especially on semiautomatic weapons and high-capacity magazines. That is why I continue to sponsor and push my Safer Neighborhoods Gun Buyback Act. Cities across the country have conducted extremely successful buyback programs where even minor payments have resulted in a major reduction of guns on the streets. We need to conduct a national program to make even more neighborhoods safer and save more innocent lives."
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