Donald M. Payne: “I begin by thanking Congresswoman Cherfilus- McCormick and Congressman Jackson for holding the CBC Special Order hour on…”

“I begin by thanking Congresswoman Cherfilus- McCormick and Congressman Jackson for holding the CBC Special Order hour on gun violence in America. Last week, our Nation was shocked by the acts of horrific violence in Allen, Texas, where eight souls were lost unnecessarily. How many killings must we endure? We are here tonight to send a message that we must keep guns out of the hands of criminals and would-be terrorists, and we must expand background checks for individuals looking to purchase guns. We must pass some commonsense legislation that provides avenues to get guns off of our streets. Legislation like my Safer Neighborhoods Gun Buyback Act would utilize Federal grants to get guns out of the hands of criminals. Programs like it have been proven to work all over this Nation, from coast to coast. We need to act on this bill and others like it to protect American lives. It is unacceptable that countless Americans continue to die senselessly from gun violence and Congress stands idly by. They do nothing. I came up with a phrase back after Newtown. The NRA, which is really who pushes this: The NRA stands for ``no Republican action.'' Here we are once again. Yes, we stood up for a moment of silence tonight once again. Then once the gavel hit the rostrum, everybody walked away and that was the end of that. My colleagues on the other side feel good after that, after they stand up and acknowledge that.…”