Donald M. Payne: “Let me thank the gentleman from New York, who passed the baton to R. Kelly and me in 2015. We have rounded the corner…”

“Let me thank the gentleman from New York, who passed the baton to R. Kelly and me in 2015. We have rounded the corner and have put it back in his capable hands, along with our classmate's, the honorable gentlewoman from the great State of Ohio, Joyce Beatty, who is demonstrating day in and day out why she was such a great leader in the Ohio legislature. She has brought those talents to bear on the entire Nation. Madam Speaker, these are very serious times. I want to start out by commending the President of the United States, President Obama, in the face of insurmountable odds, for not being hampered in wanting to do something with this terrible, terrible scourge that we suffer from in this Nation. Gun violence impacts many different communities in this Nation, some more than others, but it impacts us all. I was proud to see the President step forward and not be hampered in doing something. If the obstructionists on the other side of the aisle want to continue in that manner, then let them be, but he was going to do something. I also commend my colleagues in the Congressional Black Caucus for uniting with the President in this great effort. We understand in our communities what this means. We are trying to articulate it to the American people, but we understand it. We live it. We feel it. We see it.…”