Political Quotes

On the recordJune 11, 2014
Yesterday the House of Representatives stood in solidarity and silence as we once again rose to acknowledge another death, another shooting, another loss of life again at one of our schools. We rose out of respect for the victims and their families, as we have done repeatedly. On average, there has been a shooting in a school a week. The American people are outraged. They no longer want Congress' silence. They want to hear Congress' voice. In America, the most important thing that we can do is vote; the most patriotic thing that we can do is vote. But in this Chamber, we have yet to take up simple legislation on background checks. Now, let me be very specific about that. Pat Toomey, Joe Manchin, two of the most conservative Senators in the United States Congress, put together a very narrowly constructed compromise that called for universal background checks to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and the mentally ill. This is not complicated. It is supported by 92 percent of the American people and 76 percent of the NRA. John Boehner, Eric Cantor, Kevin McCarthy, Cathy McMorris Rodgers are honorable people. They know what the right thing to do is. And the right thing here, whatever side you come down on this issue, is to give the people in the people's House a vote. How many more times are we going to hear the pleas from parents who are crying out for Congress to take action?…
Said by
John Larson
Democratic · Connecticut
Source
govinfo.gov
Jun 11, 2014

Share

More from John Larson

Jul 6, 2026

The bill is already across the finish line. The question is whether or not Donald Trump goes through another one of his tantrums.

ctmirror.org
Jun 27, 2026

A lot of people sound radical to me. Radical on the left. Radical on the right. What’s your point?

foxnews.com
Aug 12, 2026

We are going to come in as a full committee chairman, not as some freshman in Congress with some assignment.

cbsnews.com
Aug 14, 2025

There has to be a public discussion.

cnbc.com

Other voices in this conversation