[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 123 (Wednesday, September 18, 2013)]
[House]
[Pages H5597-H5598]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        GUN VIOLENCE PREVENTION

  (Mr. CICILLINE asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mr. CICILLINE. Mr. Speaker, 9 months after the tragedy at Sandy Hook 
Elementary School in Connecticut, our country is once again facing the 
terrible reality of another horrific mass shooting. In this case, 12 
innocent men and women were murdered at the Washington Navy Yard just 2 
days ago. I know that all of us are keeping the victims and their loved 
ones in our thoughts and prayers today.
  All of us in this Chamber should ask ourselves whether there is 
anything that we could have done to prevent this tragedy. According to 
the Associated Press, the person who carried out this cowardly attack 
had previously complained about serious mental health issues, including 
paranoia, sleep disorder, and hearing voices in his head. And despite 
all of this, he legally purchased a shotgun from a firearms dealer in 
Virginia just last week.
  Mr. Speaker, there is something seriously wrong in this country when 
someone with such serious mental illness is able to purchase a firearm 
without even the slightest bit of scrutiny.
  We owe it to the victims of the Navy Yard and their families to 
finally close loopholes that allow criminals and the seriously mentally 
ill to purchase firearms. How many tragedies should we witness before 
we finally enact commonsense gun violence prevention?

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