Barbara Boxer: “I rise today as a mother, a grandmother, and a Senator--a Senator whose State has been touched far too many times by gun…”

“I rise today as a mother, a grandmother, and a Senator--a Senator whose State has been touched far too many times by gun violence, including mass shootings. I also wish to reiterate my support for the people of Boston who are dealing with the aftermath of senseless, tragic, and cowardly violence. I think I need to put into context why I have for so long been an advocate of gun safety measures. In January 1989, a gunman stepped onto the grounds of Cleveland Elementary School in Stockton, CA. He fired at least 106 bullets from an AK-47 rifle across the schoolyard. He killed 5 children, ages 6 to 9, and 1 teacher, and he injured 29 other students before fatally shooting himself. This horrific crime led California to enact an assault weapons ban and, of course, we know that assault weapons ban in California is still in place. I so appreciate Senator Feinstein's leadership in trying to, once again, authorize at the Federal level an assault weapons ban. Californians still remember this tragedy in Stockton, just as the Nation will always remember the victims of the horrific events of Friday, December 14, 2012, at Sandy Hook Elementary School. I flash forward to from 1989 and the Stockton tragedy to a law office in San Francisco in 1993, where a crazed gunman--I remember his name, but I will not say it--with an assault weapon killed eight people and wounded six.…”