On the recordJune 16, 2016
Today, the President and Vice President of the United States, rightly so, have gone to Orlando, Florida, to be with the Senate delegation and Congresswoman Corrine Brown, our colleague whose district was impacted by this heinous terrorist act. I thank him for that, and I thank him for bringing this country together, recognizing that we are not here to blame Muslims, we are not here to blame people of different faith; we are here to draw together. I want the Muslim community to know that we stand with them in their outrage over this incident and their recognition of the values of their faith. Let me also say that we honor and mourn those from the Latino community who died in this tragic and heinous act, and we want to do something about it. Congresswoman Brown and I have introduced H.R. 5470, which requires that before anyone gets an assault weapon, they must answer questions about evidence and recent contacts by Federal law enforcement authorities that they have been engaged in. It must be verified. Let me finally say, Mr. Speaker, that we want the Nation to be secure, but we also want justice in our criminal justice system. I am looking forward to moving that legislation forward because we must be balanced: security and justice and equality for people in the criminal justice system. ____________________
