On July 8 the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) held a press conference in which they criticized police for officer-involved shootings of black men and used the attack on Dallas Police officers to call for more gun control.
The two officer-involved shootings of black men were the shootings of Alton Sterling (Baton Rouge, LA) and Philando Castile (Falcon Heights, MN).
During the press conference–which aired on C-SPAN 3–Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX-18) spoke on behalf of the CBC, “We ask that the nation sees us as leaders of peace.” She went on to say that the shooting of Dallas Police officers is a wake-up call that “an AR-15 does not discriminate.”
She called on House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) to get recognize the need for gun control, saying, “We’re calling on the passage of no-fly-no-buy.”
Rep. John Lewis (D-GA-5) also spoke at the press conference. He said, “We respect law enforcement.” He went to say, “We have too many guns, there’s been too much violence, we must act.”
Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-LA-2), another speaker, directly and indirectly referenced the officer-involved shootings of black men. He said, “Today is the angriest I’ve ever been while addressing the public and the media. And I share the anger of our young kids.” He described the GOP-run congress as “co-conspirators” in devaluing people of color. He then called on people of all color to join in the fight “against injustice” and called on “Speaker Ryan” to allow votes for banning “AR-15 on our streets” and “high-capacity” magazines.” Rep. Richmond joined Rep. Jackson Lee in calling for the passage of “no-fly-no-buy.”
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