Mike Thompson: “I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, we have been trying all day to convince the Republican leadership to…”

“I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, we have been trying all day to convince the Republican leadership to bring up H.R. 1217. The reason being is that, for the last 3\1/2\ years, we have been trying to get a vote on this bipartisan, pro-Second Amendment bill. And in the course of those 3\1/ 2\ years, 34,000 people have been killed in our country by someone using a gun; 34,000. That is someone's child, someone's brother, someone's loved one, someone's wife, someone's husband, someone's partner; and it is absolutely shameful. Now we heard yesterday on the steps of the Capitol a terrifying story from a woman whose 10-year-old daughter was murdered by someone with a gun, someone who couldn't legally buy a gun because he couldn't pass a background check. He was a felon. But he got around that law because he went online. He found the same gun that you could buy in a gun store online but without the requirement to pass a background check. He bought that gun. He shot that brave woman, and he murdered her daughter. We can take a step today to do something about that. We can bring up the background check bill. It is bipartisan, pro-Second Amendment. It has 186 coauthors in this House. We can bring it up for a vote, and we can pass it. That will provide the first line of defense against people who shouldn't be able to buy guns from buying guns. Who are these people? Criminals, domestic abusers, terrorists, those who are dangerously mentally ill.…”