New York Governor Kathy Hochul says tech companies have failed to do their part to prevent mass shootings.
As she continues to push for new gun safety measures including raising the age for sales of AR-15-style rifles from 18 to 21 – the kind of weapon used this month by the 18-year-old gunmen in Uvalde, Texas and at a Buffalo supermarket – the Democrat says tech companies should also be held accountable.
Hochul spoke Rehoboth Cathedral on Sunday.
“The companies that allow this to go on, I believe should be held accountable, but there's federal laws that protect them, but we still have to do whatever we can to say that evidence is out there. You connect the dots, they're telling everybody what they're going to do, and nobody stops them. That can no longer be the case. No longer," said Hochul.
The Texas shooter reportedly warned of his plans online before killing his grandmother and driving to Robb Elementary School where he killed 19 students and two faculty members.
The accused Buffalo gunman reportedly detailed his intentions to kill African Americans for several months online before driving across the state to target shoppers in a Black neighborhood. The shooter livestreamed the shooting over the internet.
Following the Buffalo tragedy where ten died, Hochul announced a new state law enforcement unit to track extremism online and asked State Attorney General Tish James to investigate the role of social media in the shooting.