Mike Thompson: “I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the rule today and in support of bringing the…”

“I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the rule today and in support of bringing the bipartisan King-Thompson background check bill to the floor for a vote. Let me give you some numbers: 278, the number of mass shootings in our country since Newtown; 275, the number of days this Congress has been in session; 16, the number of gun-related moments of silence Congress has held since the start of last year; and 0, the number of votes this body has taken to help prevent or lessen gun violence. Just a week ago we endured another mass shooting. This time it was nine people at a community college in Oregon. Six weeks ago it was a news reporter and cameraman in Virginia. Five weeks before that it was two people at the movies in Lafayette. Five weeks before that it was a prayer group in Charleston. Every single time a mass shooting happens we go through the same routine--thoughts and prayers are sent; statements are made; stories are written; moments of silence are held--and nothing changes. No action is taken. No votes are cast. It has been said that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. The majority leadership has done nothing over and over again. Predictably, the results have been the same: more innocent lives lost, more families forever changed, and more mass gun violence.…”