Raphael Warnock: “I rise today because we are living in a nation besieged by gun violence. So far this year, our Nation has experienced…”

“I rise today because we are living in a nation besieged by gun violence. So far this year, our Nation has experienced 630 mass shootings. This is day No. 340 in the year 2023, so 340 days, 630 mass shootings. That is nearly twice as many mass shootings as we have seen days. Our precious children are afraid to go to school. They are worried that their classroom may be the next Robb Elementary, Marjory Stoneman Douglas, or Sandy Hook, as we remember that somber anniversary. I heard one of my colleagues, the Senator from Wyoming, earlier today say: They are trying to take our freedoms away. We have heard that a lot from folks on the other side: They are trying to take our freedoms away. It is a strange freedom that regularly sends our children into lockdown. What kind of freedom is that? According to the Gun Violence Archive, we have lost over 1,500 children to gun violence this year. I think that there is a kind of unspoken assumption, as we have been pushing for commonsense gun safety and have gotten very little movement in Congress--I think the unspoken assumption is that this will not visit me; it will not happen to my family. But when you consider that there have been 630 mass shootings already this year, sadly, the chances are quite good that this could visit any one of us.…”