- Families of gun violence victims delivered powerful testimonies to Congress on Wednesday.
- Many pressed lawmakers to tighten gun control legislation after a string of deadly mass shootings.
- But lawmakers didn't show any signs of compromise on legislation to reduce the violence.
The families of gun violence victims gave harrowing testimony to Congress on Wednesday, as many called for lawmakers to take action after a series of high-profile deadly mass shootings that have gripped the nation.
But by the end of the hearing, House lawmakers seemed no closer to any kind of agreement on legislation to address or stop the violence.
Speaking at a House Oversight Committee on gun violence, parents of victims of recent massacres in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas, delivered powerful and emotional remarks about the two mass shootings that left 10 and 21 people dead, respectively.
The mother of Lexi Rubio, a fourth grader killed in the May 24 shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, pleaded with lawmakers to tighten gun control restrictions — crying as she described the last day she saw her daughter.
"I left my daughter at that school and that decision will haunt me for the rest of my life," Kimberly Mata-Rubio said, demanding a ban on assault rifles and high capacity magazines.
She continued: "Somewhere out there there is a mom listening to our testimony thinking 'I cant even imagine their pain,' not knowing our reality will one day be hers — unless we act now."
In a graphic testimony, Uvalde pediatrician Roy Guerrero described witnessing gruesome scenes of horror at the hospital after the shooting. Meanwhile, 11-year-old survivor, Miah Cerrillo told Congress in a pre-recorded video that she no longer feels safe at school because she's worried that another shooting will occur.
Zeneta Everhart, whose 21-year-old son Zaire Goodman was injured in what police say was a racially motivated attack at Tops supermarket in Buffalo last month, said she can still feel the shrapnel from a bullet lodged in his back as she cleans his wounds.
She invited lawmakers who refuse to act to come to her home "to help clean Zaire's wounds so that you can see up close the damage that has been caused to my son and my community."
Wednesday's hearing also included remarks from leaders and members — some of who have been personally impacted by gun violence — of organizations fighting for firearm control and legislation.
"Gun violence is destroying communities around the country and every day, families experience first-hand the devastation gunfire brings," said Greg Jackson, executive director of the Community Justice Action Fund and a gun violence survivor.
He continued: "To eliminate gun violence, we must swiftly recognize that this is a public health crisis that deserves a public health response."
Jackson urged lawmakers to advance legislation that promotes solutions to fight spiraling gun violence, and investigate its "disproportionate impact" on communities of color across the country.
Becky Pringle, president of the National Education Association, stressed during her fired-up testimony that the crisis is "worse in Black and Latino communities" and slammed politicians for failing to take action and ignoring "the majority of Americans who want stricter gun laws."
"You tell our children," she said, that "protecting them matters less than protecting the status quo."
A few who testified, however, expressed their opposition to more strict gun control laws.
One mother, conservative gun-rights activist Lucretia Hughes whose son was shot and killed in 2016, pressed lawmakers against tighter gun control legislation, saying she needs to protect herself "from evil."
And Amy Swearer, a fellow at the conservative think tank Heritage Foundation, said tighter firearm laws would largely target "peaceable, law-abiding citizens" — suggesting the answer to gun violence could be solved with more security.
But throughout the hearing, the members of Congress mostly talked past one another, failing to show any signs of progress toward common ground to address gun violence.
A tense questioning period, which began when Committee chair Rep. Carolyn Maloney asked that lawmakers find "the courage" to act on proposed gun reform legislation, featured plenty of back-and-forth — and sometimes heated — exchanges among politicians and witnesses, too.
At one point after questioning Swearer, Democratic Rep. Katie Porter lashed out at federal law for protecting gun manufacturers, instead of regulating them, and said there is no government response when "hundreds of children" are killed in shootings.
Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said it's "internationally embarrassing and de-legitimizing" how the US has significantly more mass shootings than other countries, slamming the influence of the gun lobby.
Some Republican lawmakers, meanwhile, used their time to push back against gun legislation and reform — arguing that it would make little difference in preventing mass shootings, and instead pegging the blame on mental health.
In some cases, Republicans expressed strong support of gun ownership and said more control might even create less-safe environments.
"Criminals will obtain their weapons however they want — they will get them illegally," GOP Rep. Andrew Clyde said. "More gun laws are not going to stop that."