Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - The City of Buffalo was well-represented on Monday in the nation's capital for the celebration of the newly signed Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, aimed at reducing gun violence in the United States.
The gathering was well-attended by a number of different people from all across the country, and included communities, families, activists and others that have been impacted by gun violence.
Among those that were in attendance with President Joe Biden on the South Lawn of the White House on Monday included Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown, where he was also joined by Jerome Bridges - a worker at the Tops Friendly Market on Jefferson Avenue during the racially motivated mass shooting on May 14 - and former Buffalo Fire Commissioner Garnell Whitfield Jr.
"To hear the President talk about the importance of the bill, what the bill contains, but also to hear the President say that there was still much more work to be done," said Mayor Brown upon his return to Buffalo Monday afternoon. "And that the President was focused on an assault weapons ban - which I think is necessary - and leaders all across the country, families all across the country think is necessary, as well."
The bill that was created and passed after the mass shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde, Texas incrementally toughens requirements for young people buying guns, denies firearms to more domestic abusers and helps local authorities temporarily take weapons from people judged to be dangerous.
While this bill is certainly a good start towards making communities across America safer, Mayor Brown believes it doesn't go far enough, and much more needs to be done. He says it starts with the need for a ban of assault weapons.
"The weapon of choice in many of the mass shootings that have taken place across the country, including here in Buffalo, New York, was an assault weapon, a weapon of war. There's no reason that average Americans need to have weapons of war," Brown said. "If you're a hunter, you don't need a weapon of war. If you have a weapon to protect yourself and your family, you don't need a weapon of war. So it was good to hear the President say that he was focused on an assault weapons ban.
"We know previously when there was an assault weapons ban for a period of time in the country, we saw the number of mass shootings go down. Already this year, there have been over 300 mass shootings in the United States of America. It just doesn't make sense. Enough is enough."
The legislation signed into law has already been perceived as the most significant piece of gun legislation in over 30 years. Mayor Brown agrees that it was critically important to get the ball rolling towards turning the tide to prevent more mass shootings that have plagued the country for several years.
"It's been decades of inaction on sensible gun reform, and for this to be done in a Bipartisan fashion after the Buffalo horrible massacre and others that have taken place since, it seemed to make families feel better, make families feel hopeful," he said. "But I can tell you families all across the country that have experienced this have a great sense of resolve to keep pushing to make even more happen in this country to prevent the mass shootings that we've been seeing."
During Monday's celebration, there was a father of one of the victims in the Parkland mass shooting of 2018 that interrupted Biden, saying the President "has to do more" to prevent gun violence in the nation.
Brown understands how important it is to let those directly affected by gun violence speak out and have their voices heard, as the pain they have felt has been allowed to resonate for far too long.
"What many of us are saying across the country is we will no longer be silent. This is going to be a daily occurrence that we're talking, pushing, organizing, working on more gun reform in this country in the memory of the precious lives that have been lost here in Buffalo and all across the country," Mayor Brown said. "We owe it to people whose lives were snuffed out. We owe it to the families that are still hurting, and to those who will be saved in the future by us getting more done. So I, for one, am going to continue pushing, but was with a group of mayors from all across the country, members of Congress, members of the United States Senate."
Also among the provisions of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act that is of importance is a focus on red flag laws - tightening them, strengthening them and encouraging states across the country to adopt and implement red flag laws.
While one of New York State's oldest gun laws was struck down by the Supreme Court back on June 23 when it came to concealed carry, Gov. Kathy Hochul immediately took action to tighten up gun laws again in the State, as gun applicants will now have to hand over social media accounts for a review of a person's "character and conduct."
Gov. Hochul was in Western New York on Monday for an event in Akron when she was asked about red flag measures in the State. As of right now, there has yet to be a central registry of people who've been red flagged when attempting to purchase a gun, which some experts say creates a lot of loopholes and danger for a system that's already been expanded under New York State law.
Although some of the Governor's new policies are brand new, having only recently been signed into law, she says the State is ramping up efforts to ensure more people know who has been red flagged or not.
"What we just passed in our law dealing with concealed carries is we want to make sure that that's part of a background check, as well. So we will have a State database," Gov. Hochul said. "I understand the anxiety and the concern about this. Believe me, this is something I focus on tremendously, especially in light of what happened in my hometown here. So there was just not a infrastructure set up in the past. There will be, we're focused on that."
While Hochul was unable to give an exact date or timeline of when a database will be created, she promises the State will keep everyone apprised of the progress.
When asked for a more centralized database of people that have been red flagged in New York State, or even in the City of Buffalo, Mayor Brown says he'd certainly be very open to that possibility.
"The Governor has been a leading voice on gun reform in this nation. I applaud Gov. Hochul for moving quickly on gun reform, working very closely with the members of the State Legislature. A central registry certainly would make sense," he said. "I know in the City of Buffalo with Commissioner [Joseph] Gramaglia and the Buffalo Police Department, we are bringing in new detectives, and we will have a unit that will be focused on identifying individuals who have been red flagged to make sure that our police department has up-to-date information on those individuals."
Mayor Brown also adds that there needs to be a focus on individuals that are involved with white supremacy, and that have made online threats or are following that kind of chatter. He's hoping any measures will be preventative to try to identify individuals before they have the chance to carry out another heinous act of racism in the community.
During Monday's gathering, Whitfield had the opportunity to present President Biden to speak at the ceremony. The former Fire Commissioner for the City of Buffalo lost his mother, 86-year-old Ruth Whitfield, in the racially motivated mass shooting that took the lives of 10 innocent Black people and wounded three others.
As part of his speech before introducing the President, Whitfield called on the nation to better address white supremacy and domestic terrorism in the country. Mayor Brown believed that Whitfield was spot-on with his remarks during Monday's ceremony.
"It is a focus that I know is important to President Biden, Vice President [Kamala] Harris from talking to them. I know it is also a major focus for Gov. Hochul and other elected officials across the country," he said. "The Congressional Black Caucus has talked about white supremacy as a public health issue, public health crisis. So it is a focus that, again, needs to be on the federal radar screen to try to prevent white supremacy, to prevent the proliferation, the spread of white supremacy through social media online. I applaud former Commissioner Whitfield, he spoke very well. He represented his family in tremendous fashion, in the most difficult of circumstances, represented our community tremendously well, as he spoke."
More from Mayor Brown as he returned to Buffalo from Washington, D.C. is available in the player below:
