On the recordFebruary 5, 2020
First of all, let me say that my heart hurts for my colleague and my sister, Lucy McBath, as she confronts on a daily basis the pain of our failure to act on sensible gun safety legislation. I rise today, as many of my colleagues will, almost one year since the House took the steps to curb violence by passing H.R. 8, a bill that has yet to receive any consideration in the Senate. We are in the middle of Gun Violence Survivors Week. Yet, despite survivors' calls for action; despite the calls of parents and friends who have lost loved ones to guns; despite the calls from our young people who just want to be safe in school; and despite our calls of the communities who want to be safe in their homes, we have yet to get H.R. 8, or any other gun violence bill considered in the Senate. The paralysis around preventing gun violence is disgusting, and it is deadly. This story line that preventing people from buying assault weapons or stockpiling ammunition is somehow infringing upon their rights is deeply hurtful, and it is wrong thinking. Including suicides by guns, there were 177 deaths on New Year's Day alone. There were three mass shootings, and the lives lost included three children between the ages of 12 and 17. That's just one day, the first day of this year. Yet, Republicans in the Senate continue to refuse to move any bill that might keep more families from getting that phone call. There are so many options available to us.…
