Washington, DC – Interfaith Alliance president Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy issued the following statement today after the tragic shootings at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Kansas City and the Village Shalom assisted living community.

“Murder has no place on the American landscape. However, murders perpetrated on a religious community preparing for a celebration of deliverance and life is especially repulsive. With the details of the shooting Sunday at a Jewish Community Center and assisted living community in Overland Park, Kansas are starting to become tragically clear, we know immediately that such shootings cannot continue at regular intervals in the neighborhoods on our land. Schools, movie theaters, public gathering places, houses of worship, and now two local Jewish community institutions – these should be safe havens where people can gather without fear, and certainly without fear of being shot. Tragically, we also know that this is just the latest of what will be thousands of gun deaths that take place in the United States this year. I borrow words and emotions from the Hebrew prophet who cried, ‘How long?’  How long, America, will we let such killings happen? The insensitive, careless, and cowardly failure of Congress to deal with this issue cannot continue.”

“Evidence points to the sad likelihood that the murders that occurred yesterday in Kansas may have been an act of anti-Semitism, reminding us once more that despite the progress we made passing anti-hate crime legislation, there is still much work to be done to eliminate the culture of hate that is far to often at the root of such tragedy.”

Interfaith Alliance is a network of people of diverse faiths and beliefs from across the country working together to build a resilient democracy and fulfill America’s promise of religious freedom and civil rights not just for some, but for all. We mobilize powerful coalitions to challenge Christian nationalism and religious extremism, while fostering a better understanding of the healthy boundaries between religion and government. We advocate at all levels of government for an equitable and just America where the freedoms of belief and religious practice are protected, and where all persons are treated with dignity and have the opportunity to thrive. For more information visit interfaithalliance.org.