The Leadership Conference Statement on the Shooting in El Paso

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Kristen Voorhees, [email protected], 202.548.7166

WASHINGTON – Vanita Gupta, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, issued the following statement on the mass shooting at the Cielo Vista Mall in El Paso, Texas:

“Yet again, an apparent hate-inspired act of violence has stolen life from innocent people. The hateful rhetoric of the past several years has incited countless shootings – each one proving that anti-immigrant words breed anti-immigrant violence.

“We cannot ignore that this El Paso community was targeted on the eve of the seventh anniversary of the Oak Creek massacre, which took the lives of six Sikh worshippers in Wisconsin. We also cannot be surprised. When those holding the highest office in the land target communities of color with their words, they embolden violent actors to attack.

“How much longer will we play bystanders as our communities of color are murdered with impunity? We must all unite together to demand accountability. Every leader in every sector must find the courage to declare: ‘not on my watch. This ends today.’”

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 200 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference and its member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org