Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) on Sunday criticized some politicians for being “beholden to the gun lobby” as he lamented frustration over gun violence in the wake of last week's mass shooting at a Georgia high school.
“The reality is, in America, it's not safe to be in a school. It's not safe to be in a shopping mall. It's not safe to be in a spa. It's not safe to be in a doctor's office. We're all targets,” Warnock said on NBC News' “Meet the Press.”
“And any country that allows this to continue without common sense gun safety measures is a country that has tragically lost its way. Our politicians need to recalibrate their values.”
In response to a question from NBC News' Kristen Welker, Warnock said there is “no single law” that would prevent school shootings.
“In some ways, I think we need to broaden the scope of this issue, because last year's data showed that there are two mass shootings every day in our country,” he said. “And this is not happening everywhere in the world. The problem is that we have politicians in our country who are in thrall to the gun lobby. And, whether out of ambition or fear, they go to work every day and follow their orders while the gun lobby lines its pockets with the blood of our children.”
Gun Lobby It's a term that refers to state and federal efforts to influence gun policy, usually in the form of supporting candidates who oppose gun control measures.
The comments came days after a gunman opened fire at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, last week, killing two students and two teachers.
The suspect, 14-year-old Colt Gray, has been charged with four counts of felony murder.
“A 14-year-old doesn't need an AR-15. We need to get these military-type weapons off our streets,” Warnock said.
Warnock said the few gun control laws passed so far were “insufficient” to prevent last week's mass shooting in his home state and called on Congress to act.
“The best we can do, the least we can do, is to move forward in a bipartisan area where ordinary people agree,” he said. “Clearly there's a disconnect between what the public, the American people, want and what they're getting from their government.”
He pointed Fox News Poll An April 2023 poll found that 87 percent of voters support requiring criminal background checks for all gun buyers.
