‘Kevin Lorusso, who was testifying on behalf of Rocky Mountain Gun Owners in a hearing Monday, sought to make the point that removing Black males from statistics on gun deaths among children would yield a "true" picture of the situation.
"If you remove Black males in that age group from that group, it is not true," he said. "That is a symptom of a different issue. The issue that is causing young Black males to be killed in their homes, on their streets, is a very different issue."
Lorusso offered the suggestion during an exchange with Rep. Kyle Brown, D-Louisville, who had noted a New England Journal of Medicine article, which cited the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and reported that firearms have become the leading cause of death for children...
"For the gun lobby to suggest ‘removing’ Black males under the age of nineteen from gun death statistics in order to understate the total impact of gun violence is a racist and immoral devaluation of Black lives," Sara Loflin of ProgressNow Colorado said in a statement, adding it is an "affront to the humanity of every person of color in America. The death of children caused by gun violence in America is an assault on our future, and must never be racially downplayed to achieve a desired statistic. It is deplorable that anyone would suggest otherwise.”’
www.coloradopolitics.com
Lorusso would likely claim that male black children should only be counted as 3/5ths of a human being.
"If you remove Black males in that age group from that group, it is not true," he said. "That is a symptom of a different issue. The issue that is causing young Black males to be killed in their homes, on their streets, is a very different issue."
Lorusso offered the suggestion during an exchange with Rep. Kyle Brown, D-Louisville, who had noted a New England Journal of Medicine article, which cited the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and reported that firearms have become the leading cause of death for children...
"For the gun lobby to suggest ‘removing’ Black males under the age of nineteen from gun death statistics in order to understate the total impact of gun violence is a racist and immoral devaluation of Black lives," Sara Loflin of ProgressNow Colorado said in a statement, adding it is an "affront to the humanity of every person of color in America. The death of children caused by gun violence in America is an assault on our future, and must never be racially downplayed to achieve a desired statistic. It is deplorable that anyone would suggest otherwise.”’
Gun lobbyist causes controversy over suggestion to delete incidents involving Black kids from stats
A hearing on gun legislation elicited accusations of racism when a representative of a pro-gun organization suggested the inclusion of Black male children skews the data on deaths from firearms.
Lorusso would likely claim that male black children should only be counted as 3/5ths of a human being.
