Mike Thompson: “I thank the gentleman. I appreciate the fact that you provide clarity on the one issue, and that is that the critics of…”

“I thank the gentleman. I appreciate the fact that you provide clarity on the one issue, and that is that the critics of anything we try and do to prevent gun violence repeatedly state, Just enforce the laws that are on the books. Here, this gun trafficking proposal that you and Mrs. Maloney have introduced is, I think, illustrative of the fact that sometimes you actually need other laws. Because there are no laws on the books to prevent against something that leads to the tragedies that we heard about in your hearing yesterday and that, sadly, the folks in this New York area and the families of these slain individuals will have to live with for the rest of their life. I can't emphasize enough: there is no dedicated law on the book that prohibits trafficking of guns. People are trafficking in guns, and they are used to kill people. We have an opportunity, and I commend you and Mrs. Maloney for not only your dedication and your effort to bring this to an end, but the fact that you've reached out across party lines. You have a bipartisan coalition; you have bipartisan authorship of this bill recognizing that we've got to bring this to a stop.…”