Poligon Calls Congress to Act on Mass Shootings and Domestic Terrorism

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 8, 2019
CONTACT: info@poligonnational.org

Washington, D.C. - Poligon Education Fund is devastated by the senseless acts of violence committed in Gilroy, California, El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio. These mass shootings—which culminated in at least 34 deaths and dozens of injuries—only make it clearer that as a nation, we are facing a public crisis of gun violence fueled by white nationalism and hatred.
Poligon President, Wardah Khalid, gave the following statement:

“The threat of white nationalism is dangerous and real. We know that the perpetrators targeted people for their race, with the El Paso shooter writing about a “Hispanic invasion of Texas” and the Gilroy shooter plugging a white power manifesto on his media channels. As we saw in New Zealand shooting, which the El Paso shooter took inspiration from, Muslim and other religious communities are also very much at risk. Over and over again, we have witnessed in horror the result of easy access to assault weapons mixed with xenophobia and hateful rhetoric. Congress must address these issues to safeguard American lives and bring our country back together. Our safety can no longer be compromised.”

Poligon calls upon Members of Congress to recognize these acts as domestic terrorism and not only update gun regulations, but also pass legislation that will work to protect American lives—not place them further in danger. Passing the S. 42 - Background Check Expansion Act will take a necessary step in preventing gun violence, as will passing the HR 8 bill in the Senate. 

We will keep the victims and the families of these mass shootings in our prayers, but we hope that tragedies of the past week serve as reminders that our work to ensure all people can live in peace and security is far from complete.