Mike Honda: “Omar Mateen should not have had access to a gun, yet he walked into the Pulse nightclub and murdered 49 people and…”

“Omar Mateen should not have had access to a gun, yet he walked into the Pulse nightclub and murdered 49 people and injured many more. Syed Farooq and Tashfeen Malik should not have had access to guns, but were able to buy several weapons, which they used to kill 14 people in San Bernardino. Gerald Villabrille should not have had access to a gun, yet he shot two police officers in Fremont, California, early last month. That is in my district. These aren't isolated incidents. Rather, they represent an epidemic in this country. With most epidemics, we immediately set about trying to find a cure, or at least a treatment. But with gun violence, we have settled for moments of silence. Well, enough of that. A couple of weeks ago, Democrats got together and said, Enough is enough. We took to the House floor to demand House Speaker Ryan and Republican leadership bring bills that would counter this epidemic to a vote. In response, Speaker Ryan called our efforts to get a vote a stunt. Eighty-five percent of Americans support no fly, no buy gun legislation and more than 90 percent support universal background checks. Yet, Speaker Ryan has refused to bring these two measures up for a vote, shutting out the voices and views of the American people. He is opposing popular commonsense legislation. Mr. Speaker, you have the power to allow people to take the vote on the floor. Mr.…”