On the recordSeptember 17, 2019
Madam President, I rise tonight to join the chorus of Democratic Senators in this Chamber demanding action to address the American gun violence epidemic. We stand here tonight on behalf of the tens of millions of Americans, from one end of the country to the other, who are crying out for change. Every few months, it seems that our Nation is rocked by another horrifying mass shooting. El Paso and Dayton are only the latest entries in our national register of tragedy, a list that stretches from Parkland to Pittsburgh, Charleston to Columbine, Aurora to Orlando, Blacksburg to Binghamton, San Bernardino to Sandy Hook, and to Las Vegas. Because that ever-growing list can sometimes seem abstract, let's not forget about the specific places where these awful shootings occurred: movie theaters and night clubs, shopping malls and office parks, music festivals and traffic stops, churches, synagogues, mosques, colleges, high schools, and an elementary school. Our hearts remain with the families of the victims and the survivors of these mass shootings whose lives were turned upside down in an instance by mad men who never should have had access to a gun. The touching letter that Senator Murphy read from one of his constituents whose child died in Sandy Hook is just one of many testaments to that turning upside down--instantly ruining your life forever by one of these horrible, awful incidents.…





