Governor Hochul: "It is hard to know that while the rest of the nation has moved on to watching 600 more mass shootings, the pain is still raw in Buffalo, New York. But how we take that pain and do something about it is how we're going to be judged. And that's what we're committed to do And through the pain and the tears and the greed, we have become more resilient"
Earlier today, Governor Kathy Hochul delivered remarks at the Memorial Service for Healing and Hope in Buffalo, New York. Today marks the one-year anniversary of the white supremacist terror attack at Tops Supermarket in Buffalo on May 14, 2022. Those lost during the May 14th mass shooting are Pearl Young, Ruth Whitfield, Margus D. Morrison, Andre Mackniel, Aaron Salter Jr., Geraldine Talley, Katherine Massey, Roberta A. Drury, Heyward Patterson, and Celestine Chaney.
VIDEO of the event is available on YouTube here and in TV quality (h.264, mp4) format here.
AUDIO of the event is available here.
PHOTOS of the event aew available on the Governor's Flickr page.
A rush transcript of the Governor's remarks is available below:
Good evening, my Buffalo family. It is so good to be back with all of you. Yes, the circumstances that draw us here on this evening are painful. It's hard, but when I come in a room like this and I hear the beautiful music from our musicians and singers, and I'm surrounded by the love of people and a community that is so steeped in faith, I look out at our clergy. I think about the House we're in. Bishop Bronner, I want to thank you for being a friend to me for many years and First Lady Linda, for welcoming me here many times and just a place of refuge for the people trying to escape the storm. So, thank you for what you do. We need you now more than ever, and I appreciate you so very much.
I also want to recognize Reverend Robinson. I am never going to think about roots again in trees without thinking of your story. And I am grounded in those same roots that allow me to face the challenges and adversity within this community and beyond because of that reminder that our roots in Buffalo are strong. You can't tear them apart.
And we are blessed with incredible elected leaders who you don't know what they have in them until you see them tested. And Byron Brown has been tested so much this year. He has been through so much, but this is a time when you want that calm, reassuring voice that we're going to be okay.
And Mayor Brown, you gave that to us - lot of things swirling around, a lot of anxiety, a lot of fear, and you just had this way to calm us down and get us through the storms, whether it's a blizzard that took the lives of so many of our brothers and sisters just a few months ago, or the storm of what happened one year ago today. So, Byron Brown, thank you for being a friend and the person this community needed at its darkest hour. Let's give another round of applause to our Mayor Byron Brown.
And my sister in government, our Attorney General Tish James. Oh boy. You don't want to get on the wrong side of Tish James, just want to tell you this right now, and right now she has in her sights the gun manufacturers who are manufacturing these weapons of mass destruction and I thank her for being a national leader and also calling out the social media companies that seem to know no restraints. They think they can do whatever they want anytime, anywhere, and guess what? The results are cataclysmic. We're losing people in our country and white supremacy and hate speech is being spread in a second. And she's coming after them as well. So, let's give a round of applause for our Attorney General Tish James.
Our State leaders, Majority Leader of the New York State Assembly, our very own - for this community, Crystal Peoples-Stokes. Thank you very much for all you do. Our Senator, Tim Kennedy has joined us here as well. Our County Executive Mark Poloncarz, many other elected officials. But I'm allowed to give a special shout out to someone who calls this church home, and that is my Commissioner of Civil Service, you need a job? You call Timothy Hogues, get him on speed dial - an extraordinary public servant. There you go. Our Council President, Darius Pridgen, and so many others.
It's hard to know what to say on a day like today. It's Mother's Day. Happy Mother's Day to the moms - there you go, there you go, a lot of excitement, hope you got some flowers - to the grandmas. But you know, on a day that should be joyful, I walked through the Tops after our afternoon remembrance and I thought I already said hello to everybody I was going to see, and I saw within the aisles of the groceries, a family. They were sobbing, and I walked over and just started hugging instinctively. And the sobs - within the sobs, I heard the words, "I miss my mom. I want my mom here." And the kids started crying. They wanted their grandma there.
And through the normal course of life, we lose our moms and grandmas, but not in such a horrific, hate-filled way that just sears the pain even deeper every single day. So, it is hard. It is hard to know that while the rest of the nation has moved on to watching 600 more mass shootings, the pain is still raw in Buffalo, New York.
But how we take that pain and do something about it is how we're going to be judged. And that's what we're committed to do. You didn't defeat us on that day you evil white supremacist. You made us even stronger. And through the pain and the tears and the greed, we have become more resilient, as you heard from our pastors, but we have been a force of change. Those families went down to Washington and said, "Wake up. What's the matter with you? Why don't you do something for God's sake? People are dying in our streets." And they finally passed some gun legislation, but are they done? No, not as long as assault weapons intended for the battlefield are still allowed to be sold in this country, they're not done. We need another national ban on assault weapons and do it now before anyone else loses their lives in this country. Stand up and do the right thing, just like President Biden is saying. Follow what President Biden says.
And Red Flag laws. You know what a Red Flag law is? It's common sense. People start showing signs they could be volatile or do something to harm themselves or others - we, as a society, have a right to protect ourselves and find out if they have access to guns. Well, our laws weren't tough enough. There were signs. Our laws weren't tough enough. After this, when I was here for days and days, I went back to our Capitol, worked with our Majority Leader of the Assembly, worked with our Senators and said, "We need to toughen our Red Flag laws and make sure everybody's using them."
And as a result, in one year, in one year's time since this date, over 9,000 cases have been brought under our Red Flag laws stopping people who could do harm to all of us from getting guns - 9,000 in one year. The year before it was 200. That's the change that came out of this. Background checks, banning ghost guns, banning high-capacity magazines, monitoring social media. I've got more State Police watching everything that's going on to find out who's saying what and is it going to be harmful to others. So, we've made changes. We've made changes.
But we're one State. We need the other states to step up and do the right thing as well. But also, what about the community left behind? I'm here to tell you, East Buffalo, you are not left behind. This is not a one-year occurrence and we're saying, "Goodbye. Good luck." No, no, no. I want to see transformative change here on the East Side. Yes, I do.
And that's why, since I've been Governor - and it hasn't been all that long, $200 million directed to East Buffalo to bring this community back. Our small businesses, our homeowners, our young people getting more programs. You invest in the people and let them know they matter because far too long this community has been overlooked. They felt ignored. All the good stuff is going elsewhere, not to us.
And with the support of our Majority Leader and our Senator, Tim Kennedy, we are bringing $1 billion to stop what has destroyed the fabric of this community - the Kensington Expressway, which went right through the heart of this community, back when there was no black power to stop it back in the sixties. And finally, we're going to heal that wound and build a beautiful community. And finally, I just allocated $10 million more for Say Yes Buffalo. Why? Because I want every child, no matter what zip code they're born into, they have a shot at a good college degree, if that's what they want to do.
So, this, my friend, all came out of what we dealt with. It'll never heal the wounds. It'll never bring back mom or dad or brother or sister. It won't do that. But know that this community, when they were tested, they rose up. And they rose up against racism, and they rose up against white supremacy, and they rose up against assault weapons. They rose up above against the insanity of it all.
And for that, my friends, I am so proud of this community. Together, we will continue to rise up and we'll never, ever forget the great City of Buffalo. God bless all of you. And thank you very much.