The House Passes Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act of 2022

In the wake of the heinous mass shooting in a Buffalo, New York grocery store of a predominantly Black neighborhood, the House of Representatives took action. Wednesday night a bill aimed at combating violent White supremacists and domestic terrorism the House passed the Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act of 2022. The vote was 222 to 203 and at least the third time in the last three years the House has tried to pass legislation aimed at preventing the threat of violent extremism by White supremacists.

Thirteen innocent Black people were shot as they shopped for groceries at the neighborhood Tops Grocery Store. Officials said the ages of the victims was ranged form 20 to 86. Buffalo PD identified all 13 victims on Sunday. Among the dead was a former police officer who was killed trying to stop the shooter, an 86-year long-term substitute teacher and mother of former Buffalo fire commissioner.

U.S Senator Tim Kaine joined Senator Dick Durbin to present legislation very similar in 2019 in April, but bill got shot down by Progressives who feared it could be used to target left-leaning groups or civil rights activists. The bill was reworked and presented again in October 2020, but never made it past the Senate.

The horrific mass shooting at a Tops supermarket was a plan in the making for months, said the shooter himself, 18-year-old Payton Gendron. Investigators discovered uncovered other methods and was "studying" previous hate attacks and shootings. Police said Gendron, posted on social media page saying,

“I literally can’t wait any longer, my parents know something is wrong,” he wrote on April 15, musing about when to carry out a planned shooting that took place Saturday, leaving 10 people dead at a Buffalo supermarket.in a predominately Black neighborhood in Buffalo, New York, that killed 10 people and wounded three others. The Justice Department is investigating the shooting as a hate crime and "an act of racially-motivated violent extremism."

Lawmakers in Washington are under pressure to do something once and for all. Will the Senate block the legislation again? That's anyone's guess, but the bill is headed to them to consider. Republicans are steadfast against any kind of gun control and with this type of polarized partisan climate, it's unlikely that any significant policy changes will happen. May God bless and kept those whose lives were taken and our deepest most heart felt condolences to their families.