ICYMI: REP. KHANNA CALLS FOR UNIVERSAL BACKGROUND CHECKS AND ACCOUNTABILITY FROM SOCIAL MEDIA COMPANIES IN GUN VIOLENCE HEARING
Washington, DC – Yesterday, Rep. Ro Khanna (CA-17), joined a hearing held by the House Committee on Oversight and Reform on The Urgent Need to Address the Gun Violence Epidemic. Below is Rep. Khanna's exchange with Amy Swearer, Legal Fellow at The Heritage Foundation and Nick Suplina, Senior Vice President for Law & Policy Everytown for Gun Safety.
On the need for accountability from social media companies:
REP. RO KHANNA: I was deeply moved, not as a politician, but as a father by the testimony this morning of the families of victims. Kimberly Rubio, who lost her precious daughter, Lexi, cut through all the talking points, all the debate, and asked the central question before our Congress in our country, as she put it: What do we value more? Children or our guns? It's really that simple. I want to talk about the commonsense reforms on guns, but as a representative of Silicon Valley, I feel I also have a duty to talk about some of the role of social media in this massacre.
With the Uvalde shooter on Instagram, having a group chat, where there is conversation of school shootings, where there's conversation of threats of violence, where he's bragging about getting assault weapons. Why is there no action? And let's be very clear, these are minors, he was a minor when he did this. It's not the same free speech rights. Mr. Suplina, do you think companies like Instagram should have some responsibility in group chats when minors are involved, and you have explicit discussion of school shootings, to do something?
NICK SUPLINA: I think the role of social media companies is an important one and you're right to point it out, Congressman. Instagram, Facebook, these are often where we see the earliest warning signs of a potential mass shooter, as well as other social media platforms where these incidences are discussed. There are often multiple people in the chat. And I do want to also mention, with respect to the Buffalo shooter, for instance, he cited YouTube for the videos that allowed him to modify the firearm that he had to accept the detachable magazines which he used to deadly effect. So social media companies do have a role to play here.
REP. KHANNA: And just like my colleague, Mr. Raskin said that the right of the Second Amendment is not absolute, it's important to recognize that the right of the First Amendment is not absolute. Under Brandenberg, you can't have things that incite violence, and there are greater protections for minors. I mean, it is crazy to me that you can have people under 18 talking about shootings and mass shootings, and these companies are taking no action. So we need to have regulation that gets to the heart of this.
On the effort to pass universal background checks:
REP. KHANNA: You know, Ms. Swearer, I'm trying to understand your position and I just want to ask you some simple yes or no questions to understand where you're coming from. Is it your view that someone who has committed a violent felony should be able to purchase a gun? Yes or No?
SWEARER: No.
REP. KHANNA: Is it your view that someone who's a serial rapist should be able to purchase a gun? Yes or no?
SWEARER: Very clearly no.
REP. KHANNA: Is it your view that someone who is a drug trafficker should be able to purchase a gun yes or no?
SWEARER: No. And these are becoming insulting.
REP. KHANNA: Well, I mean, so would you support any laws that would make sure that violent felons serial rapists or people who are drug traffickers will not get access to guns?
SWEARER: If they are written and narrowly tailored to approach that issue without burdening the rights of law-abiding citizens or criminalizing low-risk transfers between responsible citizens? Yes, I'm more than willing to look at that law.
REP. KHANNA: I mean because right now, what you have is a case that the background checks do not cover a lot of the sales to violent felons, to serial rapists, and I just want to be clear when the Republican Party – their position right now by opposing H.R. 8 – is they are for violent felon serial rapists still being able to purchase these guns.
SWEARER: No they're not.
REP. KHANNA: Yes, they are.
SWEARER: No they're not. They're against low-risk transfers being criminalized.
REP. KHANNA: Reclaiming my time.
REP. COMER: Point of order. Madam Chair, the position of Republicans is that violent criminals should be in jail.
REP. KHANNA: All H.R. 8 at its core said that violent felons are still getting these guns and serial rapists are still getting guns. The law-and-order party that has demagogued the issue of law enforcement and policing. That party is saying we're okay with violent felons still getting these guns, we're okay with serial rapists still getting these guns and all that Congress on the Democratic side is trying to do is to close those loopholes.