Ed Markey: “I thank the Senator, and again I ask my colleague: Why won't the Republicans allow for the debate and a vote on whether…”

“I thank the Senator, and again I ask my colleague: Why won't the Republicans allow for the debate and a vote on whether or not individuals on a terrorist target list should be able to get a gun anywhere in America? The answer to that question has not been forthcoming from the Republican Party because the NRA, or the National Rifle Association, does not have a good answer to it, except that they do not want any exceptions to the rule that anybody should be able to buy a gun at any time, even if they are on a terrorist target list in the United States. So that is going to be our big challenge out here. What are the limits to the power of the National Rifle Association over the Republican Party; and, as a result, over the United States Senate? Because the American people don't think we have to accept this epidemic of gun violence in our country. The American people do not believe it is preordained. They believe it is preventable. Every week, 56 children die from gun violence. That is nearly three Newtown massacres every single week. Thirty thousand Americans shot and killed each year is not inevitable. It is unacceptable, and it is immoral. We cannot wait any longer to put these commonsense gun laws on the books. We cannot wait any longer to make our streets safer. I believe assault weapons belong in combat, not in our communities. We need a ban on these military-styled assault weapons. We need to eliminate the trafficking of guns into our communities across our Nation.…”