On the recordJune 5, 2018
Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize National Gun Violence Awareness Month and the 33,000 American lives lost each year to gun violence. These tragedies are preventable, Mr. Speaker, and it is truly shameful that Congress has yet to take meaningful action to address this epidemic. Even more appalling is the fact that 1,300 of these deaths are children, young lives cut short by meaningless and avoidable violence. Last month I introduced the Child Gun Access Prevention Act, which would prevent children from accessing guns by holding gun owners responsible when they leave their firearms unlocked. Millions of children live in homes with unsecured guns, Mr. Speaker, and they are at an increased risk of unintentional shootings and youth suicides. We have also seen the devastation caused when a child takes a parent's gun to school with the intention of causing harm. A child should never access a gun unsupervised. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this commonsense legislation. We absolutely must do more to protect our children from gun violence. ____________________
