On the recordJuly 7, 2016
I said this earlier today. When I left my hometown, four people were gunned down during the July Fourth holiday, and over the time period we have all been working to find common ground on making sure that we have sensible, safe gun legislation. But right now, outside the United States Capitol are throngs of individuals who have come because of the incidents of the last 48 hours, the loss of Mr. Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in an unfortunate and unspeakable and inexplicable shooting by law enforcement; and then, unfortunately, the tragic shooting of Mr. Castile, a cafeteria manager loved by children and a licensed gun owner. We love our police. We call 911. But there have to be hearings, meetings with the Attorney General, and an understanding of how we can address the question of the shootings of African American men. The numbers are high, the statistics documented, and we must find relief--not a moment of silence, but action. The phone in my office is ringing constantly. People are in pain. Young people want to ask the question, ``Do Black lives matter?'' and we want to answer the question, ``Yes.'' We want to do it in a bipartisan, multicultural way. America has to address these concerns and do it now. ____________________
