Mike Thompson: “It was almost 5 years ago that this Nation witnessed the terrible tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School, where 20…”

“It was almost 5 years ago that this Nation witnessed the terrible tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School, where 20 first graders were murdered in their classrooms, along with six of their teachers. Congress did nothing. A church in Charleston, a White supremacist walked in and murdered nine worshippers. Congress did nothing. And worse than that, Congress didn't even address what is called the ``Charleston loophole'' that allowed this deranged White supremacist to be able to buy a gun or obtain a gun that he was buying without completing the background check. Orlando, Florida, the nightclub: 49 people murdered. Congress did nothing. The congressional baseball game, one of our own was shot by some deranged murderer. Congress did nothing. Las Vegas, just these past days, a country music festival: 59 people murdered. The biggest mass shooting in the history of the United States of America. Even as sad, it is the 273rd mass shooting in the United States of America this year. So what is Congress going to do? More of nothing? That is not appropriate. In the almost 5 years since Sandy Hook, we have been working on our side of the aisle diligently to try and come up with some ideas, some solutions to help prevent gun violence, and we have come up with some. As a matter of fact, one of them is a bipartisan measure with a bipartisan coauthor on my bill, Mr. Peter King from New York, and we have four or five Republican coauthors on that bill. Have we had a hearing? No.…”