Patrick Leahy: “Like Ella, Marcelle and I continue to mourn the deaths of 49 innocent people in Orlando just over a week ago. Just a…”

“Like Ella, Marcelle and I continue to mourn the deaths of 49 innocent people in Orlando just over a week ago. Just a year ago we were mourning the loss of 9 parishioners who were murdered in their church by a hateful domestic terrorist. It is unacceptable that hundreds more have died as a result of mass shootings since that tragic day in Charleston. This includes the victims killed at military facilities in Tennessee, a college in Oregon, a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado, an office gathering in San Bernardino, and dozens of other communities around the country. Enough is enough. Ella is rightfully tired of excuses--and so am I. We cannot accept that daily shootings are the new normal. I was proud to join Senator Murphy, Senator Booker, Senator Blumenthal, and others here on the Senate floor last Wednesday in a call to action, and I commend those Senators for their determined leadership last week. We have to do something. Congress must act. When Democrats were last in the majority in the Senate, I was Chairman of the Judiciary Committee last Congress and we took action. We convened hearings, debated and reported out sensible legislation to punish criminals who traffic in firearms, to close loopholes that allow criminals to acquire guns, and other measures to prevent mass shootings. We had broad support from the public and a bipartisan group of Senators. But Senate Republicans blocked every single one of these responsible proposals.…”