A memorial to the victims is seen near the scene of a shooting at a Tops supermarket in Buffalo, New York, USA, May 16, 2022. REUTERS / Brendan McDermid / Stock Photo
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June 3 (Reuters) – A Republican congressman who spoke out in favor of gun control after a mass shooting in his area left the race for re-election on Friday after receiving overwhelming criticism from Republicans who are leaving. see his policy change as a betrayal.
Chris Jacobs, a U.S. representative in the first term of the suburbs of Buffalo, New York, said he decided to step down to avoid “an incredibly divisive election” for the Republican Party.
Jacobs passed a federal ban on assault weapons and other arms control measures a week ago in the wake of two massacres. Authorities say a white gunman killed 10 black people inside a supermarket on May 14 in a racial attack, and a gunman killed 19 schoolchildren and two teachers in another attack in Uvalde, Texas. May 24.
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“This has been a profoundly shocking event for me,” Jacobs told Buffalo News, referring to the Buffalo shooting.
The reaction was immediate. Arms advocacy groups posted their office and cell phone numbers on the Internet, and local party leaders began asking for their support, the New York Times reported.
“The last thing we need is an incredibly negative, full-blown media attack, funded by millions of dollars of special interest money coming to our community around this issue of guns and gun violence and the gun control, “Jacobs told reporters Friday after announcing it. his withdrawal.
Jacobs was elected to Congress in the 27th district of New York two years ago with the support of the National Rifle Association, but is now in the redesigned 23rd district.
The Republican candidate will be elected in a primary election on August 23 before the November 8 general election, when the entire House of Representatives will be decided.
Republicans are poised to regain control of Democrats in the tightly divided House, as the party that controls the White House traditionally loses seats in Congress in the midterm elections.
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Report by Daniel Trotta; Edited by Cynthia Osterman
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