[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 163 (Tuesday, December 18, 2012)]
[House]
[Page H6856]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   A MOMENT OF SILENCE IS NOT ENOUGH

  (Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute.)
  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, our hearts were broken 
over the senseless shooting deaths of 20 first grade children and their 
teachers in Newtown, Connecticut, and we wish that we could undue this 
unimaginable tragedy; but we know we can't do that. Instead, the House 
held a moment of silence. It is what the House does to show empathy, 
and it is a kind and sincere gesture, but it is not enough.
  Last week, the House held a moment of silence for two adults killed 
by a gunman in a Portland, Oregon, shopping mall. Earlier, the House 
held a moment of silence after the horrific mass killings in an Aurora, 
Colorado, movie theater; and it held a moment of silence after our 
colleague Gabby Giffords and her staff and constituents were shot in 
Arizona.
  A moment of silence felt like an honorable thing to do; but, clearly, 
a moment of silence is not enough. Americans don't need another moment 
of silence from the United States Congress. They need us to pass 
legislation immediately to ban automatic weapons, semiautomatic 
weapons, high-capacity ammunition clips, and to expand access to 
quality mental health services. Congress needs to act now. A moment of 
silence is not enough. It can not substitute for action.

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