[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 162 (Monday, December 17, 2012)]
[House]
[Pages H6815-H6824]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
CONDEMNING THE HORRIFIC ATTACKS IN NEWTOWN, CONNECTICUT, AND EXPRESSING
SUPPORT AND PRAYERS FOR ALL THOSE IMPACTED BY THIS TRAGEDY
Mr. KLINE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on
Education and the Workforce be discharged from further consideration of
House Resolution 833 and ask for its immediate consideration in the
House.
The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Austin Scott of Georgia). Is there
objection to the request of the gentleman from Minnesota?
There was no objection.
The text of the resolution is as follows:
Whereas on December 14, 2012 a mass shooting took place at
Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut;
Whereas the people of the United States mourn the 26
innocent lives, including those of 20 children, that have
been lost at Sandy Hook Elementary School in this
unimaginable tragedy;
Whereas the people of the United States will always
remember the victims of the previous mass shootings that have
occurred in the United States and stand in solidarity with
the survivors; and
Whereas the quick action of law enforcement officials and
other first responders prevented additional losses of life:
Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) condemns the senseless attack at Sandy Hook Elementary
School in Newtown, Connecticut on Friday, December 14, 2012;
(2) offers condolences to all of the students, teachers,
administrators, and faculty of Sandy Hook Elementary School,
as well as their families, and recognizes that the healing
process will be long and difficult for the entire Newtown
community;
(3) honors the selfless, dedicated service of--
(A) the teachers, school administrators, school support
staff, medical professionals, and others in the Greater
Newtown community;
(B) the emergency response teams and law enforcement
officials who responded to the attack; and
(C) law enforcement officials who continue to investigate
the attack; and
(4) remains committed to working together to help prevent
tragedies like this from ever happening again.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Minnesota is recognized
for 1 hour.
Mr. KLINE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself a moment to briefly offer my
heartfelt condolences to the families of Newtown, Connecticut. What
happened at Sandy Hook Elementary School last Friday is simply
unspeakable, and we as a Nation are devastated by the loss of so many
innocent lives. In the face of such tragedy, it is our duty to join
together and honor the memory of the victims. Let us stand united in
offering our prayers to their families and friends.
Mr. Speaker, I yield my time to the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr.
Murphy) and ask unanimous consent that he be permitted to control the
time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Minnesota?
There was no objection.
Mr. MURPHY of Connecticut. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
I thank the chairman very much for his kind words and for his
generosity in allowing us to have this time on the floor this evening
to both remember the 26 individuals who were brutally murdered on
Friday morning in the village of Sandy Hook in the town of Newtown,
Connecticut, but also to start to paint a pathway forward. Right now,
Newtown, Connecticut, is grieving deeply. It's going to be grieving for
a long time because, frankly, we are just in the process of figuring
out what to think about this, never mind understanding how to recover.
This morning, at the first of what will be far too many funerals, you
could start to see through the darkness a glimmer of how we figure a
way out of this.
Little Noah Pozner was buried this morning by his parents and by his
family. Noah was an amazing little 6-year-old. Not unlike most other
precocious 6-year-olds, he loved role-playing; he was mischievous; he
was as smart as a whip. He always talked about what he wanted to do in
life, what he wanted to be. One day, he'd say he wanted to be a doctor.
On another day, he'd say he wanted to be a police officer. On most
days, his mom said he wanted to be a taco store owner. He loved tacos.
That was his dream in life.
What we've seen on TV and in newspapers are these faces, the
beautiful, gleaming, pure faces of these 20 first graders who perished;
and while all of our hearts are just sick with grief, we know that
their purity and their love is going to be the inspiration for the
little community of Newtown and, frankly, for this whole country and
this whole world to figure out how to recover.
I've been there on the ground since Friday afternoon almost nonstop,
and Newtown is asking itself lots of questions about why it happened to
us. What could we have done? Why did this guy do it? As I just said on
the House floor, those questions are going to stick around for a while;
but what you see in Newtown today is just this over-abundant love. I
mean, within hours, the fire station was filled with counselors, filled
with public safety personnel, filled with food, filled with everything
that could possibly support these families. Those offers of help and
those offers of support have just kept on coming and kept on coming.
What has also emerged are the stories of what happened that day.
Certainly, the tragedy and the horror is first and foremost; but
underneath that is heroism, only the beginnings of which we know right
now. This is a great school, first of all. This was the best school in
Newtown, one of the best in the entire State, and it's because of a
principal named Dawn Hochsprung.
Dawn was a great principal right to the end. She was in a meeting
when it happened. She told the people in the meeting to run the other
way so that she could run directly to the shooter to try to disarm him.
A young teacher, Victoria Soto, had the soundness of
[[Page H6816]]
mind to tell her kids to hide in the closet. She told the shooter that
the students were in the gymnasium, somewhere else in the building.
{time} 1920
She didn't survive, but many of her students did because of what she
did.
When you start to hear more snippets of teachers who got their
colleagues out the window, of kindergarten teachers who huddled their
kids, kept them quiet, hummed to them, read them quiet stories so they
wouldn't be overheard, you start to know what kind of community Newtown
is, and you start to understand how Newtown survives.
I feel like I've done a lot of talking the last 4 days, both publicly
and to families and to community members, and so I want to make sure
that this is an hour where those who have been grieving all across the
country can come and share their thoughts as well.
We've offered a resolution tonight which expresses both our outrage
at what happened that day, but also our great sympathy. It does help to
know that people from all around the country, from every congressional
district and from every country around the world are grieving with us.
Only bits and pieces of that seeps through that wall of misery that
surrounds Newtown now; but when it does pierce that veil, it helps.
We're going to have a lot of time over the next few days and weeks to
talk about what we do next, and I'm sure we'll have some of that
discussion tonight. I'll join that conversation when it's right, and I
don't begrudge anybody that has it today. It's important to talk about
how we move forward and how we make sure this never ever happens again.
For those of us in Newtown, we remember those 20 kids and those six
adults--Charlotte Bacon, Daniel Barden, Rachel D'Avino, Olivia Rose
Engel, Josephine Gay, Dawn Hochsprung, Dylan Hockley, Madeleine Hsu,
Catherine Hubbard, Chase Kowalski, Jesse Lewis, Ana Grace Marquez-
Greene, James Mattioli, Grace McDonnell, Anne Marie Murphy, Emilie
Parker, Jack Pinto, Noah Pozner, Caroline Previdi, Jessica Rekos,
Avielle Richman, Lauren Rousseau, Mary Sherlach, Victoria Soto,
Benjamin Wheeler, and Allison Wyatt.
I'm going to remember those people for a long time in Newtown. I'm
going to grieve with them and their families. We're also going to take
their memories, the beauty of those kids, the heroism of those adults,
and let it point us, let it point the strong, close-knit community of
Newtown, Connecticut, let it point us to a way we can survive.
With that, I'd like to yield 5 minutes to my friend from the Third
Congressional District of Connecticut, Rosa DeLauro.
Ms. DeLAURO. I thank the gentleman, and I thank him for the depth of
his feeling and the work he has done over the last several days, to
help to bring some solace and peace to families who have been so struck
by the devastation in Newtown, Connecticut.
I strongly support this resolution and condemn, as my colleagues do,
the vicious attack at the Sandy Hook Elementary School and commemorate
our children and the teachers who were struck down in this terrible
tragedy.
It is overwhelming. I think all of us at the memorial service last
night were overwhelmed. It was a slaughter of the innocent. Every
parent and grandparent sees in the eyes and the smiles and the looks on
those children's faces who we lost their own children and their
grandchildren, knowing that there for the grace of God go I.
What happened in Newtown is unthinkable. A normal Friday morning in
the midst of a holiday season, Sandy Hook Elementary School, a place
where children should be safe to learn, to grow, suddenly without
warning became a place of senseless violence. Within minutes, the
actions of a young and mentally ill man devastated a small town
community, broke the hearts of millions across the country, and
murdered six teachers and administrators and 20 innocent children, all
of them between 6 and 7 years old.
They're that big. They are that big.
Such an unspeakable crime seems impossible to make sense of. How
could this young man kill so many innocent? How could so many beautiful
little angels with their whole lives ahead of them be taken from their
families? They were just babies. They were just babies. It's hard to
witness such a senseless and evil act and similar acts that some of my
colleagues in this Chamber have faced. In Aurora and Portland, Oakland,
Tucson, Blacksburg, Littleton, you can't help but feel a despairing of
the soul.
We in this institution cannot afford that luxury. We need to be
strong for the families of the fallen in Newtown and for the families
of children all over America. To the Newtown community and to all of
the Connecticut families and parents and siblings who have been touched
by what happened on Friday, our thoughts and our prayers are with you.
What you are going through is indescribable. We can be sympathetic. We
can be empathetic. We do not know that sense of despair that you feel,
but you must know that our Nation shares and mourns your loss. mourns
your loss.
I, too, as did my colleague, Chris Murphy, acknowledge the tremendous
heroism of the adults who were killed on Friday. Individuals like
Principal Dawn Hochsprung who ran at the assassin, told people to run
away from him in order to protect her kids and the school. The
schoolteacher Vicki Soto of Stratford, Connecticut, and I represent
Stratford, Connecticut, who in the heat of a terrible moment gave her
life to protect her students. She hid them. She hid them, and lost her
life in doing so.
They all died in the line of duty. They are heroes and heroines. They
gave their lives to protect those children that they deal with every
day, that they educate, that they care for, and that they love as if
they were their own.
To the first responders who put their lives on the line to stop the
senseless killing in Sandy Hook, we say thank you for your courage and
for preventing more young lives from being lost, for they too ran into
a building not knowing what they were going to face.
Moving forward, we in this institution have to take commonsense,
constructive steps that will help to ensure these types of tragedies
will not happen again; and they include ensuring better access to
quality mental health care, strengthening programs so communities will
have the necessary mental health resources.
We've heard so much in the last several days about how we need to
secure the physical plant of the school; and, yes, we need to do that.
They need to be secure, but we cannot turn them into prisons for these
young people. I wish and hope that at the same time we're talking about
those kinds of efforts, that we talk about putting a mental health
professional in our schools. That is security, as well as stationing
police cruisers in front of our schools.
It means doing everything in our power to prevent guns from falling
into the hands of violent criminals, and giving law enforcement
officials the tools they need.
{time} 1930
The President said last night that caring for our children must be
our first task, and we can no longer tolerate these tragedies, and we
must change. He asked if we are doing what we can to protect our
children, and he said that answer must be no, and we need to protect
them.
At a more fundamental level, we cannot let this terrible tragedy
harden our hearts against our fellow men and women. In the words of Dr.
Martin Luther King:
Darkness cannot drive out darkness. Only light can do that.
Hate cannot drive out hate. Only love can do that.
So let us honor the fallen in Newtown by doing everything that we can
to prevent these tragedies in the future. Let us follow the example of
those heroes and innocents who perished. Let's commit to one another to
rekindling our faith and love, compassion and community. Let's hold our
children and our grandchildren close. Love them and tell them that you
love them as many times as you are able.
General Leave
Mr. MURPHY of Connecticut. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that
all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend
their remarks and include extraneous material on H. Res. 833.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Connecticut?
[[Page H6817]]
There was no objection.
Mr. MURPHY of Connecticut. At this time I would yield 5 minutes to
the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Larson).
Mr. LARSON of Connecticut. Thank you, Chris Murphy.
We just came from a vigil over on the Senate side that Senator
Lieberman, Senator Blumenthal, and former Senator Dodd were at, and all
of us had the opportunity to be there.
Joe Courtney, when he spoke, spoke of our colleague Chris Murphy and
the incredible job that he's done for his district and for our State.
When you hear him speak on the floor about quintessential New England
and the community he represented for 6 years in Newtown and the little
village of Sandy Hook, you understand that this is a man who truly
represents the people of his district and this great State.
All of us have been shocked by the events that have transpired. Many
things will be said. Dick Blumenthal, Elizabeth Esty, who's the
Representative-elect, have been there for the last 4 days. The whole
world has looked in on this horrific event. And parents all across this
country and all across the world understood implicitly what we all
fear--the unspeakable: the parent describing a trip in an automobile
from Bridgeport to Newtown, racing to get there to see whether their
child was alive, had survived, and the joy when they were able to see
their kids; and the complete and utter despair when your child was not
one of the kids who came out. And Chris Murphy and Dick Blumenthal and
Elizabeth Esty, our colleagues, were there.
These first responders who came on the scene and prevented the loss
of more lives deserve our unending thanks. The great coordination by
our State police and local police, everything that transpired, all the
volunteers that participated; the teachers, the professionalism that
they exhibited, the execution of a drill that they had been through
time and again; and, as Rosa talked about, the principal and the
teacher who sheltered her children and gave her own life. These are
difficult things.
As Chris has so eloquently said, we're seeking answers and know that
we must move on. And where do you find the strength? We found the
strength in a great leader, in a Governor, Dan Malloy, who's been there
all 4 days and beyond.
At the vigil last evening where the President spoke in an ecumenical
gathering, he said:
As winter approaches and snow begins to fall, I will always
think of these children as precious snowflakes during this
winter of events. But I am heartened by the fact that every
spring when the flowers bloom, we will think of their
precious memory as well.
Our President said that the people of Newtown were inspirational.
Indeed, they are.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
Mr. MURPHY of Connecticut. I yield the gentleman an additional 30
seconds.
Mr. LARSON of Connecticut. Clio, the muse of history, used to sit
above this Chamber. The muse of history's responsibility was to sit
there, as you'll see the statue in Statuary Hall, with a book and pen,
recording the events of this Chamber. We are in a unique position of
responsibility. We have been sent here to perform a duty; and not only
the muse of history, but all the world is watching the United States
Congress.
We have a responsibility to respond in the most comprehensive way.
This is an attack of terrorism. This has happened all too often and all
too frequently all across this country. And in such an attack, we would
do everything within our power to make sure that no stone was left
unturned, to make sure that we provided every answer and every
opportunity that we can, as Rosa said, to protect our children. That's
why we take an oath of office here. That is our God-given
responsibility. We must act, and act now.
Mr. MURPHY of Connecticut. At this point, I would yield 5 minutes to
the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Courtney).
Mr. COURTNEY. Mr. Speaker, again I want to just begin by saluting my
colleague from Connecticut, Chris Murphy, who over the last 72 hours
has been the voice of the community of western Connecticut, and Newtown
in particular. He has handled his role in that capacity with poise and
good decorum and taste. It really is something that I think we should
all, in this Chamber, be so proud of.
I would also want to mention that he did it as a father of someone
who has a 4-year-old son, Owen, who I'm sure was seeing all around him
the events that were unfolding, the unspeakable horror again in the
eyes of a parent of a child really of the same age group. Again, we are
just so lucky to have had his amazing leadership over the last 3 or 4
days.
The President last night opened his remarks about how the town of
Newtown is really like many communities in America. To a point, it's
true. It's 29,000, tight-knit, a very small town. But it is a town
that, frankly, is above average in many instances.
{time} 1940
It is a school system that scores at the absolute top of the Mastery
Test in the State of Connecticut. And that doesn't happen by accident.
It's because it has parents and staff that, year in and year out, have
been so committed to making sure the children succeed and excel, and it
has been a model for the State of Connecticut and for our country when
education really still is, I think, probably one of the most important
challenges that we need to succeed in as a country.
For this event to happen at Sandy Hook Elementary School, a school
that, when I was sitting with the Board of Education last night during
the interfaith vigil, all of them were talking about their kids who'd
gone through Sandy Hook and now were successfully pursuing careers in
New York and the west coast and in Connecticut, it really just tore the
heart out of this community. It's a community where they've had one act
of homicide over the last 10 years. And to see those police officers
come down the aisle after having to respond to this unspeakable horror
and to see the looks on their face and the emotional drain that took
place, it really was just something that was just so out of any norm
for any community, but certainly, in particular, for the town of
Newtown.
As Chris said, in every instance, whether it was the principal, the
teachers, the parents, the first responders, the caregivers, they rose
to the challenge. They did their job.
Victoria Soto, the teacher who shielded and literally saved the lives
of at least half a dozen students, was in the middle of a lesson when
this person burst into her classroom, 10 minutes from beginning to end.
Since this debate has started, the event had already reached its
conclusion, just in the time that we've been here on the floor. For her
to think so quickly and to react so courageously is an act of human
excellence that I think all of us will wonder whether or not we
ourselves could have possibly done the same.
Her example, the example of the police and the EMS, the example of
the doctors and nurses who responded so quickly, frankly, I see that as
a challenge to this Congress. They acted. They did what they were
supposed to do. And as the President said last night, if you believe
that the measure of a society is how we protect our children, if you're
honest, you have to answer that we really are not doing all that we can
do, and, frankly, it is time for us to follow the example of the
Victoria Sotos and to act. This resolution tonight is so important to
begin that first step. But the fact of the matter is that there is much
more that needs to be done.
This morning, as I was driving to the airport on the back roads of
Connecticut, I went by a number of elementary schools. At every single
one of them, there was a police cruiser at the entrance. Again, the
State police and the local police departments, I think, were being very
thoughtful. They wanted to make sure that when the parents and kids
were going to school, they felt safe, and that after all they had seen
on the TV over the weekend, it was okay to go in the entrance of their
schools. But that is not an answer. To say that we are going to turn
our schools into fortresses is not where we should be as a Nation. We
need to go deeper in terms of solving this problem of mass killings and
of violence that now, again, is striking at the most innocent in our
society.
I look forward to working with the gentleman from the Fifth District
over
[[Page H6818]]
the next few days, and when he takes his new duties as the new Senator
from the State of Connecticut, to make sure that the people in that
room last night who were listening to the President, the people in our
State, the people in our country, the people in the world that are now
watching us, that we make sure that we deliver, just like the brave
people of the town of Newtown did over this past weekend.
Mr. MURPHY of Connecticut. I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from
Connecticut (Mr. Himes).
Mr. HIMES. I'd like to begin by thanking my friend and colleague from
Connecticut, Congressman Murphy, not just for introducing this
legislation, but for his strength of spirit as he has comforted some
people who have lived through something that none of us would ever want
to live through.
As Congressman Murphy noted, Noah Pozner, a 6-year-old boy, was
buried today, as was Jack Pinto, another 6-year-old boy. I looked at
the photographs of the parents at those funerals and tried to imagine
the bottomless grief, the anger, the questions they must have. Of
course, that's impossible. At the very front of those questions is the
question of, ``Why?'' That is something that we'll all struggle with
individually, reverting probably only imperfectly onto the tenets of
our faith as we consider how this supposedly benevolent God could allow
this sort of slaughter of innocents to happen. We won't answer that
question.
Last night, with the President and my family, by which I mean my
colleagues from Connecticut, as we listened to the President and
listened to the sighs and the gasps of the families in the community of
Newtown, it's clear there's no answer to that question of ``Why?'' A
line of poetry kept running through my head. Thomas Hardy, in one of
his poems, asked:
How arrives it joy lies slain, And why unblooms the best
hope ever sown?
We won't answer that question, but that question and its
unanswerability will transform itself into a burden that we all will
and must bear. By ``we all,'' I mean every citizen of this country, but
particularly those of us who are entrusted by our constituents with one
thing, which is to make sure that this does not happen again. And I
don't think there's any risk at all that we can't do that.
In a country awash in guns--and not just guns for the hunter or the
person who wishes to protect him- or herself, but guns that were
designed with the explicit purpose of killing as many people as rapidly
as possible; not in a country that has raised violence to a secular
religion, to a pastime, to a hobby, to a solution to our problems; and
not in a country that seems to have forgotten that it's not just our
close families, it's not just the small Connecticut delegation that is
a family, but that we are a national family and that we have
obligations of responsibility one to each other--there's a clear answer
to that ancient biblical question, ``Am I my brother's keeper?'' And
that answer is, ``Yes.''
So I don't think there's any risk that we can't act, but I think that
there is a profound risk that, just as after Aurora, just as after
Oregon, just as after Columbine, we won't act. And that's not good
enough.
I'll tell you how I'm going to challenge myself. I'm going to imagine
Noah and Jack, 6-year-olds who nobody really knew. I didn't know them.
Their parents didn't really know them--didn't know where they'd go to
college, what they'd grow up to be, who they'd take to a prom. I'm
going to imagine them standing right here--and that's not hard for me,
with a 10-year-old and a 13-year-old at home--looking up and asking,
``Will you do it?''
Mr. MURPHY of Connecticut. May I inquire as to the time remaining?
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman has 33 minutes remaining.
Mr. MURPHY of Connecticut. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
We've got a number of speakers, so we'll try to give 1\1/2\ minutes
to as many as we can.
I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlelady from Colorado (Ms. DeGette).
Ms. DeGETTE. ``Not again.'' We all said it to ourselves in the split
second we heard it on Friday, ``Not again.'' Then, when we heard about
the victims, we knew it was different. Twenty little children
slaughtered in their classroom. In our sadness, we know our society
bears responsibility because we have not done enough to protect our
children.
{time} 1950
We have not been able to get a grip on the increasing incidence of
gun massacres, and because of that we have failed our children.
In the wake of Newtown, this country must really have a conversation
about our views on violence, our views on guns, and how we're going to
respond to people who are obviously mentally ill. Certainly through
that conversation we can find consensus around reasonable solutions to
keep these killing machines out of the hands of impaired individuals.
There's not one magic solution. It's not one thing. It's many things.
It starts by us having inward conversations with ourselves and our
families. It then starts by creating a more comprehensive and effective
mental health system. Then we have to have a meaningful conversation
about gun violence in our country. We are never going to be able to
stop a deranged individual from going into a school or a movie theater
or a shopping mall to shoot people; but if you limit the weapons and
the ammunition available to them, you can give the people in their
sights some fighting chance to stop that killer.
Of the 12 deadliest shooting massacres in history, six have occurred
since 2007. In 1999, in my second term of Congress, I dealt with the
devastation of Columbine, which is now in my district. Just this
summer, I stood here like the Connecticut Representatives.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.
Mr. MURPHY of Connecticut. I yield the gentlelady 30 additional
seconds.
Ms. DeGETTE. I stood right here with my Representatives from
Colorado, like the Connecticut delegation, and mourned our friends in
Aurora. And now again we stand here.
We can start by passing a bill this week to ban high-capacity ammo
clips, the same kind this killer used and the same kind the killer in
Aurora used. My colleague and friend, Carolyn McCarthy, and I have a
bill to do just that, and we're going to urge the Republican leadership
to do that this week. But after that, we have to have that conversation
as parents, as neighbors, as friends, and the custodians of those 20
courageous little souls and the adults who tried to protect them.
Mr. MURPHY of Connecticut. At this time I yield 1 minute to the
gentlelady from Illinois (Ms. Schakowsky).
Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. As a mother and grandmother, I offer my words to the
mountains of condolences to the families of the 20 children and the six
heroic adults in Newtown, Connecticut. All of America is mourning with
you, but we owe you more than our grief and our condolences.
It is almost unthinkable that a school could be the scene of such
horror. Parents across the Nation are worrying about how to keep their
own children safe, and the terrible truth is that children in the
United States are 13 times more likely to be killed by gun violence
than children in other industrialized countries.
We need to close the gun show loophole and require criminal
background checks for anyone purchasing a gun--a proposal supported by
74 percent of NRA members and 96 percent of all Americans. We must
outlaw assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition clips. These are
weapons of mass destruction made for the military battlefields, not our
neighborhoods.
It is time to grieve. It is time to act to end the gun violence
before we lose more of our precious children and loved ones.
Mr. MURPHY of Connecticut. Mr. Speaker, at this point I yield 1\1/2\
minutes to the gentlelady from New York (Mrs. McCarthy).
Mrs. McCARTHY of New York. I want to thank my colleague. I know what
you're going through. I know what your district is going through. And I
want you to know that the people of the United States of America are
saying their prayers for all of your constituents and certainly for the
children.
I rise in support of H. Res. 833. As someone whose family has been a
victim of gun violence, my heart goes out to the victims and the
families of this
[[Page H6819]]
horrific tragedy. I know what it's like to lose someone you love, and I
offer my deepest sympathies and our prayers for those who have been
affected. To be very honest with you, I know that victims across this
country that have been affected by gun violence, they are with you and
they will be with you.
It breaks my heart to think of the holidays coming up, and Christmas,
and the children not going to be there to open up their gifts, the
parents going to their bedrooms and not seeing anybody there.
I know there are an awful lot of unanswered questions right now, and
those answers will come soon. But I have to say, as some of my
colleagues have said: Enough. Enough. More people have died in the last
several years than the whole Vietnam war. More people are injured.
I will just say the first responders, the police officers, our
prayers will be there. And I swear to God I will do everything in my
power to make this a safer country for our children.
Mr. MURPHY of Connecticut. I thank the gentlelady.
At this point I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from
Pennsylvania (Ms. Schwartz).
Ms. SCHWARTZ. The Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting was
shattering for Americans everywhere. For such an unspeakable act of
violence to take place at an elementary school--a place of safety,
learning and lively spirit--was devastating. My own sons are grown, but
my memories from their first days at school are still very vivid.
The shooting was both a deeply personal family tragedy and a tragedy
for the community of Newtown and for our Nation. I, along with all
American parents, feel the loss personally. It brought not only tears,
but also deep sadness. The youngest victims were 6, 7. It's
unacceptable.
We feel the loss of each child, so innocent, so joyful--their hopes,
their dreams and their potential never to be fulfilled. We mourn the
loss of the teachers and staff who were a comfort to their students and
who did all that they could to protect them. My thoughts and my prayers
are with each of the families and all of Newtown. did all that they
could to protect them. My thoughts and my prayers are with each of the
families and all of Newtown.
We have seen far too many moments of violence and loss. This loss is
too devastating to ignore. I believe that even in this time of deep
sadness and grief we must resolve to end such violence. We must do
better to understand and treat mental illness. And we must come
together to move our Nation towards commonsense, reasonable gun laws,
laws that recognize the responsibility of gun ownership and ensure
safety and security in our homes and our schools and our communities
and in our public spaces.
One of the Nation's greatest strengths that we have as Americans and
as a people is that our Nation and each of us is so resilient. We must
use that resilience to not only grieve together at this really
difficult time, but to work together to prevent yet another devastating
act of violence and to be shattered once again.
We should act, and I join my colleagues in a willingness and a
commitment to do so.
Mr. MURPHY of Connecticut. I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlelady
from Maryland (Ms. Edwards).
Ms. EDWARDS. I thank the gentleman from Connecticut for your
leadership, and I share in your absolute sorrow, and to honor the
memory of the 20 children and six educators who lost their lives in
this really horrific attack at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown,
Connecticut. My thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their
families and our first responders, and all of those both in Newtown and
across this country who were affected by this tragedy.
First, as a mother, my heart truly aches for the parents who lost
their children. Young and old lost their future. But as a Member of
Congress, I also know that we're not doing nearly enough to protect our
children and to protect our communities from gun violence. In cities
and rural areas, schools, offices and homes, this has happened far too
many times in far too many communities all across our country.
In my district alone there have been over 160 incidences of gun
violence this year. Forty-six people in my district have lost their
lives to gun violence this year. I think about 6-year-old Amari
Perkins, who lost his life to gun violence just miles from the Nation's
Capitol, and 17-year-old Amber Stanley, who lost her life to gun
violence.
This is a really complex problem that requires complex policy
solutions, but the complexity should not keep us from doing what it is
that we need to do to protect our children, whether those children are
in Newtown or any town across this country. The question I think we
have to ask ourselves, Mr. Speaker, is how many more tragic and
senseless acts of violence have to take place before Congress is
compelled to take truly meaningful action?
{time} 2000
We must do all we can by working together to ensure people are safe
in their schools, that our children are safe, that our educators are
safe and our neighborhoods, our public spaces and our houses of worship
all throughout our communities.
To my colleagues of the Connecticut delegation and especially to Mr.
Murphy who represents Newtown, my thoughts and prayers are with each of
you during this really difficult and incomprehensible time. But be
assured that as a Member of Congress, I'm going to work with you, I'm
going to continue to pray with you, and I'm going to make certain that
this doesn't happen again because we have an obligation, we know what
our to-do list is, and we have only to do it before year's end.
Mr. MURPHY of Connecticut. Mr. Speaker, at this point, I yield 1\1/2\
minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Engel).
Mr. ENGEL. I thank the gentleman for yielding to me, and I thank him
for doing this Special Order.
Mr. Speaker, I have been to Newtown, Connecticut, since I have
cousins who live there. It's less than an hour's drive from my
congressional district.
Today, we mourn all the people who lost their lives in Newtown on
Friday, including 20 elementary school children and six educators.
Over the past few years, we've seen innocent lives tragically lost to
gun violence in a supermarket parking lot in Arizona, a shopping mall
in Oregon, a movie theater in Colorado, an Army base in Texas, a Sikh
temple in Wisconsin, a college campus in Virginia, and now an
elementary school in Connecticut. The proliferation of combat-style
weapons has spawned these tragedies, and it is long past time that we
control them.
The Second Amendment guarantees a right to bear arms, but it does not
guarantee an absolute right to military-style, high-caliber, semi-
automatic, bulletproof-vest-piercing combat assault rifles with high-
capacity magazines to anybody who wants them.
It just does not. And we must not let interest groups persuade us
otherwise. We need sensible restrictions. We need sensible gun control
legislation. We need them here, and we need them now. Our children are
counting on us, and we really need to not let them down.
Mr. MURPHY of Connecticut. At this point, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to
the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Eshoo).
Ms. ESHOO. I thank my colleague, Congressman and Senator-elect from
the State of Connecticut, Chris Murphy.
There have been many magnificent and heart-rending tributes being
paid this evening, and how appropriate it is that they are. On behalf
of my constituents in the 14th Congressional District in California, I
hope that our words and our prayers and also our future actions will be
a source of comfort to the parents of the victims and to the community
of Newtown, Connecticut.
It is appropriate that we offer our prayers and our sympathy, but
that's not enough. That is not enough. It is in this Chamber and in
this Congress we're together. We can, indeed, make the changes that the
American people, in their anguish, are looking for.
I can't help but think of the words of Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg
Address when he said:
The world will little note, nor long remember what we say
here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for
us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to their great
unfinished work.
And so the massacre of these angels should really inspire us to take
on the
[[Page H6820]]
job of what really needs to be done in our country. Will we be able to
resolve every last problem that this violence has brought about in our
country? I doubt that. Can we take great steps to avoid what we know
has taken place in public places, in shopping malls, in theaters, on
college campuses, and now for where the little angels go to school?
I pledge not only to my constituents but to the Connecticut
delegation and to the people of our country that I will do everything
possible to help resolve this. We know that they are living in the
sight of Almighty God, but our work is truly our own, and it will be
the hand of God that will guide us. I believe that.
Mr. MURPHY of Connecticut. I thank the gentlewoman.
At this time, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlelady from
California (Ms. Chu).
Ms. CHU. This Friday, an unimaginable horror happened. The most
innocent amongst us, 20 beautiful children, ages 6 and 7, were gunned
down in cold blood, and six adults died trying to save these children's
lives. My heart breaks for these families, and I send my deepest
sympathies to the Newtown community and to all who are struggling
through this unthinkable tragedy.
Sandy Hook made clear what we've known for too long: that we are not
doing enough to protect the public from deadly weapons, that we are not
doing enough to address mental health issues in our society, and that
we are not doing enough to stand up to those who are actually saying
that more guns, not less, are the solutions to mass shootings.
This must change. For the sake of our children, I say enough is
enough. Congress must act to put a stop to this senseless gun violence.
Mr. MURPHY of Connecticut. I thank the gentlewoman.
At this point, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from
California (Ms. Matsui).
Ms. MATSUI. Mr. Speaker, I rise this evening to pay tribute to the
innocent victims who were tragically struck down in Newtown,
Connecticut, and to condemn in the strongest possible terms the
senseless act of violence that claimed their lives.
That so many victims were young children who had their entire lives
ahead of them makes the shooting even more heart-wrenching. The
children were so young. We saw in each of them our own children, our
grandchildren. They really are America's children.
Jack Pinto, 6 years old, the same age as my grandson, Robbie. He was
a huge New York Giants fan and today was buried in a Giants jersey. And
Noah Pozner, who is also 6, whose best friend was his twin sister,
Arielle, who was in another class and survived, though I'm sure she
felt she lost her other self.
These children were truly innocent, mostly knowing in their short
lives just joy and little about the brutality in this world until they
experienced it firsthand on Friday.
What gives us hope is that there was also love and bravery in the
actions of the adults, the educators and first responders who acted
selflessly and heroically. We will forever remember all of them and
pledge that their purity and spirit will be our guiding light to act to
protect our children and our community.
Mr. MURPHY of Connecticut. I thank the gentlewoman.
At this time, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Florida
(Mr. Deutch).
Mr. DEUTCH. I thank my friend from Connecticut.
I rise tonight to join all Americans in grieving for the innocent
children and brave adults horrifically slaughtered at Sandy Hook
Elementary School last Friday. What happened in Newtown, Connecticut,
is every parent's worst nightmare. Every parent who sends a child off
to school each morning takes a leap of faith that he or she will be
home that night for a hug, a family dinner, and for a kiss goodnight.
For my wife and me, our three children are the center of our lives.
Words cannot express the sorrow that we feel--that all Americans feel--
for the families whose children were so viciously taken away.
Tonight, the American people are united in grief. In the coming days,
a national conversation will take place on how to make our Nation just
a little bit safer, and we must remain united. Never mind that some
will feel threatened by this conversation and others will try to stop
it altogether.
This unspeakable crime was driven by unspeakable evil. Yet when it
comes to preventing such heinous acts, nothing should stop us from
speaking out; but more than that, nothing should stop us from taking
action. By preventing another massacre, by stopping this rampaging gun
violence, we will honor the memory of every 6- and 7-year-old child and
every brave member of the Sandy Hook community we mourn for this
evening.
Please, please let us do more than talk. Please let us do more than
give speeches. Let us come together to act to make America safer.
{time} 2010
Mr. MURPHY of Connecticut. I thank the gentleman.
I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr.
Cicilline).
Mr. CICILLINE. I thank the gentleman from Connecticut. And on behalf
of all the residents of my home State of Rhode Island, I extend our
profound sympathies to our neighbors in Newtown, Connecticut.
As we stand here this evening, mourning the innocent victims of this
horrific massacre, our hearts ache for the parents and families who
have endured an indescribable loss. We stand united as members of one
community who share in the vital and solemn responsibility to protect
our children, our families, and our neighborhoods.
As the men, women, and children of Newtown join together to comfort
one another, to overcome the anguish and sorrow that has broken their
hearts, they should know that an entire country is by their side,
extending our prayers and love and are committed to action. The
senseless cruelty and unspeakable violence that was inflicted upon the
people of Newtown and took the lives of these precious angels have
changed our Nation forever.
We honor the acts of bravery, we celebrate the lives, even those
cruelly short, of those we lost; and we now must embrace our solemn
duty and moral responsibility to take action in honor of the memory of
the lost angels. They deserve nothing less.
Mr. MURPHY of Connecticut. I thank the gentleman.
I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Curson).
Mr. CURSON of Michigan. Thank you, Congressman.
A few weeks ago, my grandson stood right here with me when I took my
oath of office, one of the proudest moments of my life.
Just hours before this horrible act in Connecticut took place,
Michigan's lame-duck legislators rewrote Michigan's gun laws to permit
persons to bring concealed firearms into schools, college dorms,
churches, hospitals, bars, and sports stadiums.
Firearms have absolutely no place in our schools. The tragic massacre
at Sandy Hook Elementary school is a chilling and heartbreaking
reminder of this. Last week, innocent children, babies, went to school
to a safe place where they love to be. Six public servants went to
school to the children they love almost as much as their own. Those six
heroically died trying to save those precious gifts from God. Twenty of
those babies were savagely murdered.
We've witnessed this horrendous tragedy before. Thirty-two innocent
people were shot to death at Virginia Tech; 16 were murdered at the
University of Texas in Austin; 13 students and faculty were murdered at
Columbine High School.
I support reasonable gun ownership, but this bill is unnecessary and
goes way too far. Senate Bill 59 is now sitting on Governor Snyder's
desk. In the spirit of this resolution, I ask the Governor on behalf of
Peyton and Parker, my grandchildren, on behalf of all Michigan
children, that he use his power of veto and not sign that bill.
Mr. MURPHY of Connecticut. I thank the gentleman.
At this point, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Georgia
(Mr. Scott).
Mr. DAVID SCOTT of Georgia. Ladies and gentlemen of the Congress, the
Lord Jesus said, Suffer the little children to come unto me, for they
are the kingdom of Heaven. But Jesus didn't stop there. He spoke, and
then he acted.
[[Page H6821]]
He first rebuked his disciples, brought the children to him, picked
each child up in his arms, put his hand on them, prayed with them, and
then blessed them. And just as Jesus spoke and acted, the people of
this country are expecting this Congress to speak, but to act. The
first order of business is to make sure that this kind of tragedy never
happens again. The first order of business is to ban, to make illegal
to own, manufacture, sell, or possess this deadly weapon that was used
to massacre these 20 children and these six educators, two 23
Bushmaster semiautomatic assault weapons. If we are going to honor
those children who were massacred, we need to make sure that that
weapon will never be used again.
If we do not do that, then this Congress needs to hang its head in
shame.
Mr. MURPHY of Connecticut. Mr. Speaker, I inquire as to how much time
I have remaining.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Farenthold). The gentleman has 14
minutes remaining.
Mr. MURPHY of Connecticut. Mr. Speaker, at this point, I yield 1\1/2\
minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Clarke).
Mr. CLARKE of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, of all the horror this country
has had to endure, there's something else that is tragic, and that is
too many times someone who is mentally ill can only get treatment once
they're arrested and locked up. Treating the mentally ill only when
they go to prison, it doesn't make sense. It costs too much money, and
many times that treatment comes too late.
I'm asking this House and this Congress this week to protect all of
the funding for mental health treatment and substance abuse treatment,
protect all of the funds from across-the-board cuts that could occur as
a result of the fiscal cliff. I also ask all of us as Americans to
finally end the stigma of mental illness and substance abuse so that
those who need treatment will no longer feel ashamed to seek it.
Mr. MURPHY of Connecticut. I thank the gentleman.
At this point, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlelady from
California (Mrs. Davis).
Mrs. DAVIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I certainly want to thank my
colleagues from Connecticut for the way in which they've conducted
themselves through this horrific tragedy that the whole country has
experienced.
Mr. Speaker, I came to sit and listen and to be here to support my
colleagues, but I did want to say a few words because I had an
opportunity to speak with the press in San Diego over the last few
days.
I'm almost haunted by the question that I was asked, which was, Isn't
this all just going to go away? People will get on with their lives,
and a period of time will commence and maybe something else horrible
will happen again.
What is it that we can do? I think it is a collective responsibility.
It is certainly all of our responsibility. The President, I believe,
has to take the lead, and he has begun to do that. We also have to
reach out to our entire communities. I know that there are differences
throughout this country. Of course there are. It's not even so much
partisan differences. It's geographic in some cases. It's the way that
people have chosen to live and their backgrounds and what they do.
But I think that we would be pretty surprised if we had the kinds of
meetings throughout this country to allow that conversation to take
place because parents throughout my district--and I know throughout the
district of all of my colleagues--want to say something about how we
can do better. I believe we can. If we can't, then what are we about?
I thank the President for his comments. I thank my colleagues,
because I wonder could I have responded as well as they have done
through this. And I certainly express my profound sorrow to the
families who are enduring the absolute unthinkable. We are all parents
and grandparents here, and we do identify, and we want to make a
difference.
{time} 2020
Mr. MURPHY of Connecticut. At this point, I yield 3 minutes to the
gentlelady from New York (Mrs. Maloney).
Mrs. MALONEY. I thank my wonderful colleague and dear friend for
yielding to me, and I congratulate him on his election to the United
States Senate and for responding so beautifully to his constituents and
to all of us in response to the terrible tragedy that happened.
After the unfathomable tragedy, there is a growing determination and
consensus that there has to be change. We also realize that if there is
no change then we are destined to have yet another mass murder. This
time, the mass murder was of children--elementary school children, in
their school with their teachers--gunned down with an assault weapon.
There are too many mass murders in this country. We have more guns per
capita than any other country on Earth. If guns made people safer, this
country would be very safe, but what we have are innocent people being
killed with assault weapons.
Now, assault weapons are not used to kill animals, and they're not
used in self-defense. These are weapons of war. When we return in
January, Senator Feinstein and our colleague Carolyn McCarthy will be
reintroducing the assault ban bill; but something we can do right now,
before we leave this body, is to pass H.R. 308. We now have, roughly,
150 cosponsors. What this bill would do is ban massacre magazines.
These are the large-capacity magazines that can have 100 rounds be
limited to 10 rounds. They'd have to stop and reload. That's what saved
people in the movie theater: He had to stop; it jammed. These magazines
can gun down people, and we need to limit them. That's something we can
do right now in this Congress before we leave.
There are some who say that any limitation on guns--weapons of mass
destruction--somehow limits their liberty, but they have to realize
that their access to these weapons of mass destruction limits the
liberty of other people. It means that we need to lock more doors, that
we need metal detectors everywhere, that we need guards, that we need
more protection even in movie theaters, even for children in school.
We need to bring change. This bill would bring change. This is
something we can do right now to show America that we respect the
Second Amendment. We're not infringing on law-abiding citizens to have
their pistols. What we are saying is that these large-capacity
magazines that are used in war cannot be used on our schoolchildren in
elementary schools. Let's come together in a bipartisan way and pass
this bill.
Mr. MURPHY of Connecticut. I thank the gentlelady for those words.
I am so pleased to have joining us on the floor the Democratic
leader. I yield the customary 1 minute to the gentlelady from
California (Ms. Pelosi).
Ms. PELOSI. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
I rise in support of his very important resolution--to condemn the
acts of a lone gunman in Newtown, Connecticut, and to offer condolences
to the families and members of the community.
I join him in the words of this resolution of saluting the courage of
the teachers and administrators who gave their lives to save the
children in their care and to thank the first responders who arrived on
the scene to not only get survivors to safety but to end the succession
of killings that were happening. Those first responders, Mr. Speaker,
leave their homes every day knowing they're going to face danger, and
they did that day as well; but in the face of it, they were heroic, as
were the teachers and a counselor and the principal of the school.
This has all been made very clear to us by our colleagues:
Congresswoman DeLauro for whom children and the prevention of violence
has been a priority for her; of course, Congressman Murphy, Senator-
elect Murphy, who represents this district with such distinction and
such compassion; Congressman Courtney; Congressman John Larson; and
Congressman Jim Himes. All of them spoke with such beauty at our
service earlier, at the candlelight service. It was so moving to hear
their connections to the people there. Their words were universal.
As the President said last night, this could have been happening any
place. We can't tolerate this anymore, he said. These tragedies must
end, and to end them we must change.
To change our Nation is already beginning--to reassess the options
before us. Leaders from both parties have
[[Page H6822]]
stepped forward to put forth a series of steps on the table--from
restoring the ban on assault weapons and assault magazines to
strengthening the system of background checks. Again, we must address
the challenge of mental health and keep weapons out of the hands of
those in danger so as not to do harm to themselves and to others.
The voices of reason cannot be silent. Through administrative and
legislative action, we must limit the proliferation of weapons
ammunitions that have no other purpose than to kill citizens. Our
colleagues through the course of the evening--and Congresswoman Maloney
just before me--talked about legislation that we could pass
immediately, that which the American people expect us to do, and that
is to ban assault magazines. Of course, we want to ban assault weapons
but also ban assault magazines. proliferation of weapons ammunitions
that have no other purpose than to kill citizens. Our colleagues
through the course of the evening--and Congresswoman Maloney just
before me--talked about legislation that we could pass immediately,
that which the American people expect us to do, and that is to ban
assault magazines. Of course, we want to ban assault weapons but also
ban assault magazines.
Why is it that somebody needs a magazine with 20 shots in it and
could have two of those, and then 40 lives are at risk? Why is it? I'm
not even asking that rhetorically. I'm asking it of those who are
advocating that we shouldn't make this change. Haven't we crossed a
threshold when children in school are not safe, when people who go to
the theater in Aurora have someone come in and just kill them? I mean,
just to use those words is very hard.
I don't know what words we could ever use to comfort the families of
Newtown, Connecticut. As a mother and a grandmother, I find it--you
said ``unfathomable,'' Congresswoman Maloney--unspeakable, unthinkable,
just impossible to imagine how they go forward; but hopefully, God will
give them the strength and the courage to do so.
It reminded me of a time before I was in Congress. I had the
invitation of President Carter to visit Italy with a delegation--with
Geraldine Ferraro, Italian American Members of Congress, Mario Cuomo,
etc. We went there to deliver assistance from the United States
Government after an earthquake in southern Italy. In one of the
villages we visited, there was a rehearsal for first communion going on
in the church, so just about every 7-year-old in the village was in
church, practicing for first holy communion. When the earthquake hit,
the roof came down, and every 7-year-old in the village was gone. It
was impossible to console the people there. Not only had they
individually lost their children, which is unthinkable, but the whole
town had lost that class--their future, their new growth, their hopes,
their babies.
So I really transform my thinking about how fragile life is. This was
a natural disaster. What happened in Newtown, Connecticut, was a
personal decision about someone whose judgment was thoroughly impaired.
How could he do it? Because he had his own problems. How could he do
this? Because he had the guns. He had the assault magazines to do it.
That's how he could do it.
{time} 2030
So let's at least try to mitigate, for circumstances that we may not
be able to control entirely, the mental condition of someone, but at
least limit the capacity to kill that that person has.
Just hearing the reaction to the expressions of sympathy to the
families, to see the President read the names and hear the sobbing,
this is something that will scar our country. If we can do something to
prevent it from happening again to this extent, maybe we can't prevent
it all from happening, but if we're going to take care of our people,
we have to take care of them in many ways--address the issue of
violence, address the issue of mental health, address the issue of
where mental health and assault magazines comes together.
Some people are calling them high capacity or whatever. They're
assault magazines. They make every weapon an assault weapon that they
are compatible with, whether it's a pistol or rifle or whatever it is.
So yes, we want to ban assault weapons, but these assault magazines
make every weapon that they are compatible with an assault weapon.
It doesn't take a whole lot to figure out what we need to do
immediately, and then maybe do more later. But wouldn't that be a
comfort to these families to know that although they lost their babies,
their little angels, their precious darlings gone to heaven, that
something would come of it to prevent this from happening to others.
I always wondered in the Bible when Christ says:
Suffer little children, and come unto me. Suffer little
children, and come unto me.
I guess it was an interpretation of the word ``suffer,'' allow little
children to come unto me. But Christ was calling children to Him. He
used the word ``suffer.''
These children, their lives are gone. Their families are suffering.
The other children in the school, in the neighborhood, children who
just have heard about this, they're suffering, too; suffering about
what it feels like to go to school and not be sure you're safe, staying
up at night being sleepless in terms of being scared of what could
happen.
Let's stop the suffering of our children, whether it's taking their
lives, scaring them from going to school or keeping them up at night,
giving them nightmares over their safety. These little children did
suffer, and they did go on to heaven, a better place. It's the timing
we have a problem with. Far too soon, far too many, for a reason that
we can do something about.
So I commend my colleagues for how they came together, led by the
community coming together, the community of Newtown and Sandy Hook,
such an inspiration to the country, so strong, so courageous, so sad.
Let's show them that not only do we offer words, we offer action, and
that action will take the form of passing this legislation to ban
assault magazines, to do so in a timely fashion, so that in a non-
untimely fashion we won't lose any more lives.
Again, I want to commend the President for his beautiful words,
mostly to the families last night and to the community, and the source
of strength and inspiration he was. He challenged us to act. Let me
just say it again: ``We can't tolerate this any more,'' he said.
``These tragedies must end; and to end them, we must change.''
Thank you, Mr. Murphy, for your leadership.
Mr. MURPHY of Connecticut. I thank the Leader very much. I thank very
much my delegation. And I thank all who have come down this evening to
publicly express their support for the families of Newtown to help
paint us a path forward; and thank you very much, everyone, for your
private words as well.
I'll leave everyone with just two final thoughts. First, a thought
about Newtown itself.
Newtown is a small town. It's a small town that is very close-knit.
As I've said a number of times over the past few days, the pride of
Newtown is the Labor Day parade. It's the biggest Labor Day parade in
the State, and people from all over the State come to Newtown on Labor
Day. Everybody in town spends half the year getting their float or
their marching contingent ready--the school groups, the churches, the
community and civic groups. It's a slice of Americana out of a Norman
Rockwell painting. And that's Newtown. That's particularly Sandy Hook.
And the closeness of this community, it makes the grief even deeper
because everybody knows everybody. When a school, a community school
has this many lost lives, it touches a little bit deeper.
But I think it also paints the path forward to recovery because
people are so close, because you don't have to go too far to have
somebody be able to reach out and grab your shoulder in order to give
you a little bit of a boost, a pathway back. The closeness of Newtown
makes it hurt more, but the closeness of Newtown will also make us heal
as well.
We've got great leaders as well. Governor Malloy was on the ground
within hours, and he basically has not left and has not slept. Pat
Llodra, the first selectwoman, has been just an inspiration. The
superintendent of schools, the police chief, and the all-volunteer fire
department, these men and women
[[Page H6823]]
in the fire department, none of them are getting paid, and they've been
down at the firehouse, out at the site, in the community almost without
end since this incident.
And this final thought. On Sunday morning, Senator Blumenthal and I
went to the church service at the local Congregational Church, and a
guy grabbed us as we were walking out, gripped our arms tight and said,
``Make sure this never, ever happens again.''
You know, the honest truth is we can't make sure it never happens
again, but we certainly can make it much less likely; and we can
certainly find ways to make sure that if someone does slip through the
cracks and they set themselves on a path of destruction, the path of
destruction is nowhere near the scale we saw in Newtown.
We're grieving right now, and we're going to join this process of
figuring out where we go from here very soon, but it helps to know that
we have the support and the love and the sympathy and the thoughts of
the United States House of Representatives. It will help me to be able
to bring back this resolution to the people of Newtown and the people
of Connecticut. And we know that very shortly we will join you, we will
join the President in figuring out a way to make sure that, within our
power, this doesn't happen again.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. FARR. Mr. Speaker, over the weekend, like so many Americans, I
tried to process the news of this horrible shooting at Sandy Hook
Elementary School.
There simply is no way to understand what could lead an individual to
want to inflict that much harm and pain on so many innocent lives.
As I dealt with a range of emotions that surfaced not just as a
Member of Congress but as a father and grandfather, I could not help
but shake the feeling that there is more we could have done as a
legislators to prevent this tragedy.
More that could have been done to help the shooter get the mental
health treatment he so desperately needed.
More that could have done to prevent such a powerful weapon from
getting into the hands of a troubled soul.
More that could have been done to protect the children of Newtown,
Connecticut.
Today, I too pray for their community and those who lost their lives
on Friday.
Today, I pray . . . but tomorrow, I vow to return to this Chamber and
fight every day so that no other community has to deal with this gun
madness.
May God bless the victims, their families and the people of Newtown,
Connecticut.
Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to join my
colleagues in honoring and remembering all of the victims of the tragic
shootings at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton, CT. My
condolences and prayers go to the families and loved ones of the women
and children who lost their lives in this senseless tragedy.
I also recognize and applaud the heroic efforts made by the teachers,
administrators, and law enforcement officials who acted quickly to
secure and protect the lives of the children who survived this deadly
encounter.
As the founder and Co-Chair of the Congressional Children's Caucus
and a senior Member of the Judiciary Committee, I have listened to the
tragic testimony of individuals who have survived or lost loved ones as
a result of gun violence.
The parents and grandparents who dropped off their children and
grandchildren in the early morning hours of December 14, 2012, could
never have imagined that by 10 a.m. on that morning they would to have
face this tragedy.
This moment will be etched in our memories and will forever remind us
of other moments like those of Aurora and Columbine. Moments when lives
are needlessly lost due to gun violence.
As we unite in grief, it is time for us to unite in finding a
solution. Newtown, CT by all accounts is a small close-knit town.
Everyone in Newtown was in some way connected to the students, parents,
teachers, and administrators from Sandy Hook Elementary School. And if
asked, they would all agree that things like this sad occurrence just
do not happen in Newtown.
We must join together in recognizing that things like this can happen
in any community and we must immediately begin to address the
underlying problems that would lead a young man to take up arms against
defenseless women and children.
If we act now and work together, we can work towards preventing these
types of tragedies. At around the same time that the children in
Newtown, CT faced a deranged gun man, thousands of miles away in China,
another man also attacked a group of school children. Again, a tragedy
that no one in the community could have anticipated; however, because
the man in China was armed only with a knife, he wounded instead of
killed 20 children. The lives of 20 children in China were spared
because their attacker did not have in his possession a gun.
I believe the solution to these acts of violence can be found by
taking a multifaceted approach. There are those who will say that
``guns don't kill people, people kill people.'' The statistics for the
harm that people are capable of doing with guns to themselves and
others is alarming. People are indeed killing people, with guns. We
need to reform how we view guns in this country and also how we address
mental health challenges in our communities.
We must act now. This is the right moment to demonstrate that the
safety of our children is one of our most sacred priorities. It is
imperative that this Congress brings to the House for immediate
consideration the following gun safety laws.
First, there must be an immediate ban on all assault weapons.
Second, we must close gun show loopholes which allow for the sale of
weapons without a background check.
Third, we must reform our current mental health system to provide
support for families to enable them to get immediate assistance for
mental health issues. In addition, there should be pathways for
families who are facing these challenges to gain emergency access to
publicly funded or private counseling services.
Fourth, we must look at the design of primary and secondary schools
in which these schools may need to have reinforced bullet proof window
and reinforced secure entrances.
Lastly, we must expand current state laws to hold adults accountable
and responsible for the security their weapons. We can help to prevent
tragedies like this one from happening again.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, gun
violence, claims the lives of over 30,000 people For every person who
dies from a gunshot wound, two others are wounded. Every year,
approximately 100,000 Americans are victims of gun violence.
In addition to those who are killed or injured, there are countless
others whose lives are forever changed by the deaths of and injuries to
their loved ones.
In 2010, guns took the lives of 31,076 Americans in homicides,
suicides and unintentional shootings. This is the equivalent of more
than 85 deaths each day and more than three deaths each hour.
There were 73,505 Americans treated in hospital emergency departments
for non-fatal gunshot wounds in 2010.
Firearms were the third-leading cause of injury-related deaths
nationwide in 2010, following poisoning and motor vehicle accidents.
Between 1955 and 1975, the Vietnam War killed over 58,000 American
soldiers--less than the number of civilians killed with guns in the
U.S. in an average two-year period.
In the first seven years of the U.S.-Iraq War, over 4,400 American
soldiers were killed. Almost as many civilians are killed with guns
here in the U.S. over the course of 7 weeks rather than 7 years.
Homicide
U.S. homicide rates are 6.9 times higher than rates in 22 other
populous high-income countries combined, despite similar non-lethal
crime and violence rates. The firearm homicide rate in the U.S. is 19.5
times higher Guns were used in 11,078 homicides in the U.S. in 2010,
comprising almost 35% of all gun deaths, and over 68% of all homicides.
Over a million people have been killed with guns in the United States
since 1968, when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy were
assassinated.
On average, 33 gun homicides were committed each day for the years
2005-2010.
Regions and states with higher rates of gun ownership have
significantly higher rates of homicide than states with lower rates of
gun ownership.
Where guns are prevalent, there are significantly more homicides,
particularly gun homicides.
Suicide
Firearms were used in 19,392 suicides in the U.S. in 2010,
constituting almost 62% of all gun deaths.
Over 50% of all suicides are committed with a firearm.
On average, 49 gun suicides were committed each day for the years
2005-2010.
White males, about 40% of the U.S. population, accounted for over 80%
of firearm suicides in 2010.
A study of California handgun purchasers found that in the first year
after the purchase of a handgun, suicide was the leading cause of death
among the purchasers.
Firearms were used in nearly 44% of suicide deaths among persons
under age 25 in 2010.
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More than 75% of guns used in suicide attempts and unintentional
injuries of 0-19 year-olds were stored in the residence of the victim,
a relative, or a friend.
The risk of suicide increases in homes where guns are kept loaded
and/or unlocked.
Unintentional Deaths and Injuries
In 2010, unintentional firearm injuries caused the deaths of 606
people.
From 2005-2010, almost 3,800 people in the U.S. died from
unintentional shootings.
Over 1,300 victims of unintentional shootings for the period 2005-
2010 were under 25 years of age.
People of all age groups are significantly more likely to die from
unintentional firearm injuries when they live in states with more guns,
relative to states with fewer guns. On average, states with the highest
gun levels had nine times the rate of unintentional firearms deaths
compared to states with the lowest gun levels.
A federal government study of unintentional shootings found that 8%
of such shooting deaths resulted from shots fired by children under the
age of six.
The U.S. General Accounting Office has estimated that 31% of
unintentional deaths caused by firearms might be prevented by the
addition of two devices: a child-proof safety lock (8%) and a loading
indicator (23%).
For years, I have introduced and reintroduced gun safety legislation
and supported the efforts of my colleagues who have also worked
diligently to protect the lives of our nation's children through
adequate gun safety.
I re-introduced H.R. 277 the Child Gun Safety And Gun Access
Prevention Act of 2011. This legislation would prevent anyone under the
age of 21 from being eligible to own a handgun and would prohibit youth
from possessing semiautomatic assault weapons.
Under this legislation parents and supervising adults will be held
accountable if a juvenile is able to gain possession of dangerous
firearms that are located in their household.
The statistics are clear, firearms in a household must be properly
and adequately stored.
A gun in the home is 22 times more likely to be used in a completed
or attempted suicide (11x), criminal assault or homicide (7x), or
unintentional shooting death or injury (4x) than to be used in a self-
defense shooting.
Higher household gun ownership correlates with higher rates of
homicides, suicides, and unintentional shootings.
Keeping a firearm in the home increases the risk of suicide by a
factor of 3 to 5 and increases the risk of suicide with a firearm by a
factor of 17.
Keeping a firearm in the home increases the risk of homicide by a
factor of 3.
A 2009 study found that people in possession of a gun are 4.5 times
more likely to be shot in an assault.
My legislation also requires a parent to accompany a minor when
attending a gun show.
Our focus should also be on the owners of guns. Parents need to keep
guns and ammunition out of the reach of teenagers. Parents should be
responsible for securing from their minor children access to dangerous
firearms.
Further, my bill is a preventative measure, my legislation encourages
school districts to proved or participate in firearm safety programs.
It also addresses the underlying concerns related to violence and
suicide. It amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the
Secretary of Health and Human Services to support programs to promote
mental health services among all children and their families and to
provide early intervention services to ameliorate identified mental
health problems in children and adolescents. This is a multifaceted
approach to address this multifaceted issue.
As in years past, I once again will join Senator Dianne Feinstein in
advocating for additional gun safety laws. I support Senator
Feinstein's bill which she intends to introduce once again in the 113th
Congress to ban the sale of automatic assault weapons and ban the sale
of big clips, drums or strips of more than 10 bullets. I appreciate
Senator Feinstein's leaderships and will continue to join her in
advocating to pass this legislation in the 113th Congress.
Mr. Speaker, it is our responsibility to do all that we can do to
reverse this level of gun violence. We must pass common sense gun
safety.
The previous question was ordered.
The resolution was agreed to.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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