Speaking about the mass shooting in Orlando, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz references civil rights pioneer Fannie Lou Hamer’s famous quote “I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired.”
“There’s a lot of us who are sick and tired of these mass casualty killings that could be stopped,” Poloncarz says.
Poloncarz speaks with frustration about how the suspected murderer, who was once on a watch list, was able to purchase a weapon. 29-year old Omar Mateen purchased an AR-15-type rifle legally before opening fire on Pulse Nightclub.
Mateen had been investigated twice by the FBI, in 2013 and 2014, over concerns about his alleged self-proclaimed ties to Al Queda.
FBI Director James Comey said Monday the investigations did not indicate he posed any real threat. Nevertheless, Poloncarz joins a chorus of critics who believe Mateen should not have been allowed to purchase weapons.
Speaking in the Oval Office Monday, President Barack Obama said individuals who are on no-fly lists in the United States are still able to purchase weapons (note: Mateen was not on a no-fly list).
Reaffirming the President’s comments, Poloncarz tells 7 Eyewitness News “if an individual is on a no-fly list they should also be on a no-buy list.”
“We should not live in a country where every year we’re reading about 25 or now 50 individuals who are dying at the hands of another individual,” Poloncarz says.
