Florida Democrats in Congress say they will continue to push for a vote on gun control measures as the House reconvenes after the Fourth of July weekend.
At a news conference at the Fort Lauderdale Airport on Tuesday morning, U.S. Rep. TedDeutchpointed the success of last month's Democratic sit-in in Congress to bring gun measures up for a vote.
“If you read the social media - the Facebook posts, the tweets from people who, in the middle of the sit-in, got involved to say, ‘Thank you for finally doing what needs to be done,’ That intensity is not going to dissipate. It’s only going to get stronger,” he said.
U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the Democratic national chairperson, was also at the event to talk about gun control.
Wasserman Schultz said a measure proposed by Republicans is meant to appease the gun lobby, and doesn’t protect Americans from suspected terrorists purchasing guns.
“Now they’re offering up a proposal that will do nothing to keep weapons out of the terrorists’ hands," she said, "instead of joining us on two specific measures that have overwhelming support across this country: expanding background checks, and prohibiting people on the terrorism watch lists from buying guns.” Megan Hobson, of Hialeah, is a survivor of gun violence. She was critically injured in a drive-by shooting in 2012. She spoke at the news conference about the dangers of guns on the streets.
“It’s not a story that I wish to tell to a lot of people, ‘cause it’s not some trophy or some award that I received,” Hobson said.
Immediately following the conference, both Deutch and Wasserman Schultz boarded a plane to Washington, D.C. for the House's next round of voting.
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