Political Quotes

“I thank the Senator for the question, and the answer is yes, so long as you pair it with an expansion of background checks to make sure they are seeing these purchases wherever they take place. That is why we have asked for this body to move forward on both of those pieces of legislation, because we cannot ask the FBI to protect this Nation from terrorist attacks if we don't give them the tools to keep firearms from those who threaten us. Before turning the floor over to the Senator from Virginia, let me underscore the last point Senator McCaskill made. There is no other country in the world in which this happens. The rate of gun violence in this country is 20 times higher than the combined rates of the 22 countries that are our peers in wealth and population--20 times higher. More people died in this country in the first 15 years of this century than died in all of the wars in the last century combined. That is unique to the United States. Shame on us if we don't recognize that and do something about it. In the days after Sandy Hook, the Senator from Virginia was one of the first to stand up intentionally to the national media and say that something had to change. He was one of the early signals that this Nation has woken up in the wake of Sandy Hook. I am glad to yield to him for a question without losing my right to the floor.”