[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 56 (Tuesday, April 20, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Page S2463]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           GUN SHOW LOOPHOLE

  Mr. LAUTENBERG. Madam President, I rise because today marks 11 years 
since the massacre at Columbine High School in Littleton, CO, occurred. 
This is a painful recall of a horrible moment in our country that 
should remind us all of a condition that could easily happen again.
  I and millions of other Americans watched in horror as young students 
hung out of windows in that schoolhouse to try to save their lives, 
while two of their schoolmates went on a rampage and killed 12 students 
and a teacher. Those images will forever be burned in our memory.
  But here is what a lot of people do not know: All the firearms used 
by the shooters were bought by an underage friend at a gun show. That 
purchase was able to be made because of the gun show loophole. Because 
of the gun show loophole, they were bought with no questions asked, no 
background check, no questions about who you are, where you might live. 
The weapons were bought ``cash and carry,'' without, again, any 
identifying questions being asked or being supplied. Those 13 people 
should never have died that day because those teenagers should not have 
had access to those guns. The young woman who bought the guns for the 
shooters said she would not have done it if a background check had been 
required.
  Our laws require a background check for all gun sales by licensed 
dealers. But a special exemption allows anyone--including terrorists 
such as bin Laden, criminals, gun traffickers, and the severely 
mentally ill--to buy guns without a background check from so-called 
private sellers, who sell hundreds of guns every year at gun shows, 
fully exempt from any responsibility for those sales.
  In 1999, I introduced legislation to close the gun show loophole and 
to keep guns from falling into the wrong hands. In the aftermath of 
Columbine, the Senate passed my legislation, with Vice President Al 
Gore casting the tiebreaking vote. It was a great victory but a short-
lived one. The gun lobby stripped my legislation in conference with the 
House, and in the decade since then we have done absolutely nothing at 
the national level to close the gun show loophole. No wonder domestic 
terrorists frequently use gun shows to sell their firearms to fund 
their illegal activities.
  Just yesterday, we commemorated the 15th anniversary of the Oklahoma 
City bombing. It claimed 168 lives, including 19 children under the age 
of 6. Timothy McVeigh--the killer responsible for those horrific 
deeds--frequently set up his own booth. He sold weapons at gun shows.
  We continue to see the tragic consequences of senseless gun violence 
fueled by gun show dealers who are not really licensed.
  Just a few weeks ago, a few miles from this Chamber, John Patrick 
Bedell opened fire on two police officers at the Pentagon Metro 
station. They were wounded before they returned the fire and killed 
Bedell. One of his semiautomatic guns was linked directly back to a gun 
show sale. And it is no surprise that his gun was bought outside the 
normal stream of commerce because Bedell would have failed a background 
check. He actually tried to buy a gun from a licensed firearms dealer 
in California, but because of his diagnosed mental illness, he couldn't 
pass the check.

  If that doesn't make it clear that we have to stop guns from falling 
into the wrong hands, just think of the Virginia Tech shootings. Last 
Friday, we marked the third anniversary of that horrible day. In that 
tragedy, a mentally deranged man killed 32 students and faculty in the 
worst mass shooting in American history.
  Whether it is Virginia Tech, the recent shootings at the Pentagon, or 
Columbine, we are reminded over and over that our gun laws are not 
strong enough. Yet, while gunshots continue to ring out across this 
country, the silence from this Chamber is deafening.
  I am a veteran. I served in the military in Europe during wartime, 
World War II, and I understand the desire to protect one's self and 
family. But I know how important it is to keep terrorists, convicted 
criminals, and domestic abusers from having guns.
  Some would argue that gun owners are against sensible gun laws, 
including closing the gun show loophole, but that is simply not true. 
Recent polling has shown that there is overwhelming support for closing 
the gun show loophole among gun owners. Here we have a placard that 
shows that gun owners themselves want the loophole closed. Sixty-nine 
percent of NRA members agree, and 85 percent of other gun owners agree: 
Shut down that gun show loophole. Republican pollster Frank Luntz 
recently found that 69 percent of National Rifle Association members 
and, as pointed out, 85 percent of other gun owners want us to close 
this loophole. After all, the vast majority of gun owners are law-
abiding Americans who pass background checks and use their firearms 
responsibly. They know their lives and the lives of their children are 
in danger when a firearm is purchased by an unqualified buyer at a gun 
show, by someone who could never pass a background check at a 
neighborhood gun store. It is as easy as ever for criminals to buy 
guns--easier, in fact, than it is to get a library card.
  We have an opportunity to save lives, and that is why I call on my 
colleagues to please join me and pass my bill to close the gun show 
loophole once and for all. Eleven years ago, we lost 12 students and a 
teacher to gun violence in Littleton, CO. One of the best ways to honor 
those who perished and those who have suffered is to make sure a 
tragedy like Columbine never happens again. We owe that and nothing 
less to the young people who died 11 years ago and the young people who 
count on us today. We have to step up to our responsibilities and ask 
all gun dealers to step up to their responsibilities.
  With that, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Missouri.

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