Bonnie Watson Coleman: “I thank the gentlewoman for her remarks, and I associate myself with the concerns raised through them. Mr. Speaker, my…”

“I thank the gentlewoman for her remarks, and I associate myself with the concerns raised through them. Mr. Speaker, my heart is heavy right now. I never thought that I would be in Washington representing the people of the 12th District in the State of New Jersey, but never in my wildest imagination did I think that I would be on the floor of this body mourning the nine Americans murdered for the color of their skin in the midst of worship, at a church that was part of the fight for our civil rights. In what has become a disturbingly routine order of events, we watch, horrified, as the helicopter circles a church, a movie theater, a college campus, or a school. A breaking news headline parades across the screen, keeping track of the developing details. The next day, we debate the mental stability or motive of the shooter. We ask where they purchased the weapon. We ponder the merits of changing our Nation's laws to keep more Americans safe. And then, inevitably, we do nothing, and the cycle repeats. The rate of mass shootings has steadily risen since 2000. President Barack Obama has himself addressed the Nation for at least a dozen of these incidents since the beginning of his first term. We are the only developed nation in the world that has this problem, and we need to wake up and ask ourselves why. We are told that more guns will keep us safe. We are told that requiring background checks for every purchase, with no exceptions, is too intrusive.…”