Vic urged pols to act on guns in ’21 op-ed
One of the victims slain in Saturday’s hate-fueled mass shooting at a Buffalo supermarket penned an open letter last year pleading for stricter gun laws.
Katherine Massey, who was among the 10 people killed, allegedly by avowed white supremacist Payton Gendron, was a local activist who sent a letter decrying gun violence to the Buffalo News, which published her missive on May 30, 2021.
“The recent News story about Erie County Legislator April Baskin’s cousin — who was fatally gunned down near her district office — is another gut-wrenching account of the escalating gun violence in Buffalo and many major U.S. cities,” Massey, who was 72 when she was killed, wrote in the piece, referencing a county legislator’s fatally shot cousin.
“There needs to be extensive federal action/legislation to address all aspects of the issue.”
Massey, who volunteered in schools and as the secretary of her block association, wrote that universal background checks and a ban on assault rifles aren’t enough to stop gun violence and that legislators need to crack down on out-of-state gun trafficking.
“Two federal laws of longevity — which are continued roadblocks to law enforcement efforts to prevent and solve gun violence
crimes — are the Tiahrt Amendment (parented by the National Rifle Association) — and the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA),” Massey wrote.
“The intention for both is to bar lawsuits against firearms sellers and manufacturers for crimes committed with their products. Incredulously, the amendment requires the FBI to destroy all approved gun purchaser records within 24 hours.”
Massey’s sister, Barbara Mapps, 64, said Katherine worked for Blue Cross Blue Shield and frequently wrote opinion pieces in local news.
“She was unapologetic about making sure our community was not ignored,” friend and former Erie County legislator Betty Jean
Grant recalled.