At a Judiciary Committee meeting yesterday, Senator Grassley read a prepared opening statement comparing Black Lives Matter demonstrations to the mass shootings that have occurred in the past week. You can watch Senator Grassley’s statement by clicking here.
In response, Progress Iowa executive director Matt Sinovic issued the following statement:
“The racist statement made by Senator Grassley today is an absolute embarrassment to our state.”
“Iowans understand the difference between last summer’s protests for equality and the mass shootings of this past week. Either Senator Grassley is too blinded by prejudice to understand the difference, or he does understand and he’s willfully using racist rhetoric to divide our country in an attempt to score reprehensible political points and avoid a meaningful discussion about gun safety.”
“Regardless of his motive or intent, Senator Grassley should be ashamed of the statement he made. He should apologize immediately and retract his statement from the record.”
