[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 84 (Thursday, June 13, 2013)]
[House]
[Pages H3361-H3362]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                NEWTOWN

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Thompson) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. THOMPSON of California. Mr. Speaker, 6 months ago, our Nation 
witnessed a horrible massacre of innocence in Newtown, Connecticut. In 
the 6 months since, there are two important facts that we should note: 
first, nearly 5,000 more Americans have been killed by people using 
guns.

                              {time}  1020

  Second, Congress has done absolutely nothing to reduce and prevent 
these deaths.
  The Senate took one vote to expand background checks. Sadly, it 
failed when a minority of Senators voted against the wishes of 90 
percent of Americans. The only thing more disappointing than the Senate 
voting down this pro-gun owner, anti-criminal legislation is that the 
House has refused to vote at all.
  My Republican colleague, Peter King, and I have introduced H.R. 1565, 
legislation that's identical to the Senate background check effort. We 
have 3 Republicans, we have 179 Democrats--a total of 182 coauthors. 
Surely, we need more support from the Republican side of the aisle.
  But the truth is this shouldn't be a controversial bill, and it 
shouldn't be partisan. Background checks are something everyone in both 
parties should be able to agree on. Everyone says they're against 
criminals, terrorists, and the dangerously mentally ill getting guns. 
But you can't be against that and be against background checks. 
Background checks are the first line of defense. Our bipartisan bill 
strengthens that first line of defense.
  It's anti-criminal. Right now a criminal can buy a firearm at a gun 
show, over the Internet, or through a newspaper ad because those sales 
don't require a background check. Last year, the background check 
system identified and denied 88,000 gun sales to

[[Page H3362]]

criminals, domestic abusers, those with dangerous mental illness, and 
other prohibited purchasers. However, those same criminals could buy 
those same guns at a gun show or over the Internet without any 
questions asked because those sales don't require a background check.
  Our bill closes this huge loophole, greatly reducing the number of 
places a criminal can buy a gun, because our bill would require 
background checks at all gun shows and for Internet or newspaper sales.
  Our bill is pro-gun owner and pro-Second Amendment. It provides 
reasonable exceptions for firearm transfers between families and 
friends. You won't have to get a background check when you inherit the 
family rifle or borrow a shotgun for a hunting trip, or purchase a gun 
from a friend, hunting buddy, or neighbor.
  It bans the creation of a Federal registry and makes the misuse of 
records a felony, punishable up to 15 years in prison. It allows Active 
Duty military to buy firearms in their home States or the State in 
which they're stationed. It authorizes the use of State concealed carry 
permits in lieu of a background check to purchase a firearm. And, it 
allows interstate handgun sales from licensed dealers.
  We have a bill that's ready for the floor. It's bipartisan. It will 
help keep guns from criminals, terrorists, and the dangerously mentally 
ill, and it supports the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding 
Americans. If the bill didn't support the Second Amendment, my name 
wouldn't be on it. I'm a gun owner, and I believe that law-abiding 
Americans have a constitutional right to own a firearm. But I'm also a 
father and a grandfather, and I know that we have a responsibility to 
do everything we can to reduce gun violence.
  This bill deserves a vote. The people of Newtown deserve a vote. The 
families of the nearly 5,000 people who have been killed since Newtown 
deserve a vote. Our kids and our grandkids deserve a vote. Mr. Speaker, 
please give us a vote.

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