JERSEY CITY, N.J. – U.S. Senator Bob Menendez today joined a rally with Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action in calling on Congress to pass commonsense gun safety reform measures in the wake of the Jersey City shooting that took place this week, which left four individuals dead including a Jersey City officer. The deadly attack is being investigated as an act of domestic terrorism fueled by anti-Semitic and anti-law enforcement beliefs. This morning Sen. Menendez joined an interfaith roundtable with Governor Phil Murphy and community leaders at Temple Beth El in the city.

“Our hearts are broken and so are our gun laws,” said Sen. Menendez. “As we mourn, we have to make a commitment that [the victims] lives will not have been in vein. It is time, as our gun laws are broken, to get them right. It is time for a universal background check to exist in our nation. Regardless of New Jersey having the strongest gun laws in the nation, it is of little value if you can purchase a gun at a gun show, from a private sale, or by the click of a mouse from anywhere in the nation that has much laxer laws and ultimately bring those guns to New Jersey.”

Yesterday, Sens. Menendez and Booker issued a joint statement in response to the shooting being formally investigated as a hate crime and potential act of domestic terrorism.

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