Now the question is, why am I saying that? Because we have an opioid epidemic, and the President just declared it a public health crisis.

The American people understand that we need to keep firearms out of the wrong hands, and yet it is 20 years later and we at the Federal level have shamefully done nothing about this issue.

So, for those who would have you believe, oh, that the bad guys are never going to try to go buy a gun, nonsense. Utter nonsense.

Based on similar gun control measures in states like California, H.R. 8 would not deter a criminal from engaging in criminal activity, and it won't decrease gun crime.

The new gun control restrictions currently being considered by the Democratic majority in H.R. 8 would not have prevented my shooting.

Instead, whether intentionally or not, the gun control proposals in H.R. 8 could turn law abiding citizens into criminals while also failing to achieve the stated purpose of reducing gun violence.

America's unique gun violence problem, explained in 17 maps and charts.

I urge you to expand Brady background checks by voting for H.R. 8, legislation requiring background checks for virtually every gun transaction.

Congress should immediately re-institute the assault weapons ban.

We must also do more to cover people at a high risk from committing violence who are not currently prohibited from purchasing guns.

There is no constitutional impediment to passing life-saving gun laws.

The Charleston loophole threatens local communities by enabling guns to fall into the hands of dangerous people.

I implore you and your colleagues to pass legislation that will make us all safer by strengthening our nation's gun laws.

Congress should pass legislation incentivizing more states to pass these life saving laws and providing funds for implementation and education.

Ninety percent of federal background checks take only a few minutes, but in thousands of cases three days is not enough time to complete a check.

I am grateful to Congressman Mike Thompson and this Committee for prioritizing H.R. 8, the bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2019.

We must invest in our collective future.

H.R. 8 will make it harder for dangerous people to get their hands on guns and hurt themselves or others.