“We’re not taking no for an answer,” Whaley said Tuesday outside the U.S. Capitol. “The crowds of Dayton hollered ‘Do something’ … I’m here because our community will not stop until there is common-sense gun legislation.”
“We are on the right side of history,” Whaley said. “We are going to take action and the folks in Dayton and across the country will not stop until the promises made to us after every tragedy become a reality.”
“If they don’t do something we will hold them accountable,” she said.
Whaley was joined by individuals impacted by the Aug. 4 mass shooting. Brianne Henry and Desiree Myers were working at Ned Peppers bar the night of the shooting. Police say the bar was the gunman’s intended target.
Nadine Warren, the mother of victim Beatrice Nicole Warren-Curtis, also joined Whaley.
Whaley and other U.S. mayors are in Washington this week pushing the U.S. Senate on the legislation, along with support from the anti-gun violence group Everytown for Gun Safety. The push comes after a series of mass shootings this summer, including the Aug. 4 shooting in Dayton’s Oregon District.
A gunman with a pistol modified to mimic an AR-15 killed nine people in Dayton and injured dozens more.
Republican congressional leaders were expected to meet at the White House on Tuesday to discuss options. McConnell says Democrats are trying to scare people by demanding a vote on background checks for gun sales and said Democrats are engaged in “theatrics.”
McConnell dismissed Democratic demands for a vote on the House-passed bill because he doubts it would pass and become law.
The Associated Press contributed reporting.
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