[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 104 (Monday, July 7, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4206-S4209]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
GUN VIOLENCE
Mr. MURPHY. Madam President, last week Target stores announced that
they were going to initiate a new policy in their stores across the
country. They were going to politely ask all of their consumers to
refrain from bringing guns inside their stores.
This is a picture of one of their customers bringing what appears to
be a semiautomatic rifle into a store in order to buy Oreos. Their
statement read like this:
As you have likely seen in the media, there has been debate
about whether guests in communities that permit ``open
carry'' should be allowed to bring firearms into Target
stores. Our approach has always been to follow local laws,
and of course we will continue to do so, but starting today
we will also respectfully request that guests not bring
firearms to Target--even in communities where it is permitted
by law.
We've listened carefully to the nuances of this debate and
respect the protected rights of everyone involved. . . . This
is a complicated issue, but it boils down to a simple belief:
Bringing firearms to Target creates an environment that is at
odds with the family-friendly shopping and work experience we
strive to create.
I am thankful that Target has taken this position. I am hopeful that
other retail stores across the country will follow suit. My only point
of disagreement is that there is any nuance to this debate. My only
point of contention is that there is anything complicated about whether
this is appropriate for workers across retail stores and restaurants in
the United States or the little kids who come in and shop there on a
regular basis.
Here is what the NRA had to say about this. The NRA released a
statement that said:
Let's not mince words, not only is it rare, it is downright
weird and certainly not a practical way to normally go about
your business while being prepared to defend yourself--
talking about bringing firearms into stores--to those who are
not acquainted with the dubious practice of using public
displays of firearms as a means to draw attention to one's
self or one's cause, it can be down right scary. Using guns
really to draw attention to yourself in public not only
defies common sense, it shows a lack of consideration and
manners.
That was the NRA's position for a couple of days, until a handful of
NRA members got upset and started tearing up their membership cards,
and then the NRA's top lobbyist apologized for that statement and
effectively withdrew it. Luckily, Target some weeks later changed their
policies.
That is weird. That is scary. That is inappropriate. It is this
policy which we have perpetuated by our inaction in this place that
allows for the continued diffusion of weapons, many of which are
military grade such as the one displayed here that is leading to the
spiraling rates of mass gun violence across this country.
We went for a stretch in January or February where there was a school
shooting almost every other day that school was open. We expect now to
pick up the newspaper and read about another mass slaughter somewhere
in this country, and we wonder why it is happening. There are guys
buying Oreos with an assault rifle strapped onto their shoulder, and
that debate is nuanced and complicated about whether we should allow
it.
The gun lobby's position speaks to this mythology--that is
charitable, a lie to the cynics--that the only way to stop a bad guy
with a gun is a good guy with a gun. That is not what actually any of
the data tells us. The data tells us if you have a gun in your home,
you are much more likely to be the victim of a gunshot from that gun
than you are to ever use that on an assailant. If you are a woman, for
instance, you are five times more likely to die as a result of domestic
violence with a gun if it is in your home rather than if you are in a
home without a gun. Health Affairs came out with a study of 50 States.
A longitudinal study of experience related to rates of gun violence and
rates of gun ownership found that for every percentage increase of gun
ownership in a community, there is a percentage increase in gun
violence.
There have been 79 shootings in Walmarts in the last year--79
shootings in Walmarts, of all places, in the last year. I am glad
Target made the decision to take guns out of the workplace.
Senator Blumenthal will speak after me. Senator Blumenthal and I sent
a letter to Target asking them to make this change in policy, and I am
glad they did.
It appears we will have debate this week on a piece of legislation
that will allow for individuals to bring more firearms onto public
property throughout this country. It is not a debate about bringing
firearms into Target stores; it is a debate about bringing firearms
onto public lands.
There is a perfectly legitimate debate to be had about bringing more
legal guns onto public property, but there is a more important debate
than that about taking illegal guns off of
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our city streets. If the Senate is going to spend a week debating a
bill about gun policy, then we should be talking about getting rid of
illegal guns. We should be talking about keeping guns out of the hands
of criminals. We should be talking about stopping the epidemic of gun
violence across this country.
These are the numbers: 31,000 people are killed by guns every year,
2,600 people are killed by guns every month, and 86 people are killed
by guns every day. If we are going to be talking on the floor of the
Senate about guns this week, we should be talking about how to stop
another Newtown, another Aurora, another bloody Chicago summer.
The bill we are being asked to debate this week is a gun bill that
does nothing to stop the scourge of gun violence across our country,
and I for one cannot vote for it. I cannot vote for it because there
are not only families still grieving in Newtown, but every single day
there are families grieving across this country, such as the families
associated with a young man by the name of Michael Mayfield in
Baltimore, MD. Michael was killed earlier this year. He was an
outstanding student. He was passionate about being a member of the
Junior ROTC. He was a gifted baseball star in Baltimore. The paramedics
found Michael shot in the head inside a vehicle in Northwest Baltimore
and took him to a local hospital, where he died. He left his house at
about 6 o'clock, and somebody walked up to him on the street, shot him
four times in the head, and then fled on foot to an awaiting car up the
street. He had been accepted to college, and he was due to start there
this fall, but instead of going to his graduation, his family and
friends--hundreds of them--went to his funeral.
Paul Lee was killed some weeks later in another school shooting at
Seattle Pacific University. A delusional young man started shooting and
killed Paul, who was described as easygoing and energetic. A friend and
dorm mate of his said he was adored by everyone and affectionate with
everybody. He loved to dance. He was a member of Seattle Pacific
University's hip-hop club, and his friend said he would walk around his
dorm doing the robot. At a makeshift memorial to him outside where his
funeral took place, one friend wrote, ``Keep dancing in heaven.''
Kristjan Ndoj, a 15-year-old from Connecticut, was out on his bike
one night. When the clock approached 8:45, two gunshots were fired from
a wooded area near his house and struck Kristjan in the head and leg,
dropping him onto the driveway at Agawam Trail. He died 5 days later.
Police say the shooting may have involved trouble over a teenage girl.
The casualness of violence in this country and the idea that a
dispute over a teenage girl would result in the death of a 15-year-old
is directly connected to our casualness about guns in this country. If
we are so casual as to think someone needs to be armed when they go to
buy Oreos at a Target, it stands to reason that some kids may think
they can have a casualness about settling disputes with guns as well.
I will not be voting for cloture today because we are long overdue to
make a statement in the Senate about the tens of thousands of deaths
happening due to guns all across this country. Everyone has a role to
play in trying to stem this epidemic of violence. Target has a role to
play, and they stepped up last week by taking guns out of their stores.
Our hospitals and our mental health professionals have a role to play.
This is not just about the number of guns out in our communities, this
is also about getting resources to very troubled kids. This Congress
has a role to play as well. Our role is to have a debate about how we
can take guns out of the hands of criminals, take military-style
assault weapons off the streets, and give real resources to people who
want to help these troubled individuals. That is the debate we should
be having on the floor of the Senate this week if we really want to
honor all of the voices of these victims.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Connecticut.
Mr. BLUMENTHAL. Madam President, I wish to thank my colleague Senator
Murphy. He is my friend and partner on so many different issues but
most especially on measures to stop gun violence in this country--
commonsense, sensible measures he has championed so ably, and I have
been very proud to work with him as a partner in spearheading this
issue as well.
I wish to explain my reasons that I am unable to vote for the bill we
are considering today, the bill that is presented for cloture on the
motion to proceed this afternoon. People in the United States have a
Second Amendment right to possess and use firearms. It is guaranteed by
the Constitution. And there are legitimate ways people can use firearms
in this country--recreational and sometimes commercial. Those rights
are guaranteed by the Constitution, and this measure, arguably, is in
service of those rights.
I cannot vote for a measure which makes owning or possessing or using
guns more readily or easily useable when we have failed to act, and we
have failed to act, on commonsense, sensible measures that will stop
gun violence.
I voted to achieve cloture on a measure very similar to this one
before Sandy Hook and before the Senate failed to produce the necessary
60 votes which were required to pass commonsense gun violence
legislation a year ago April.
I can see the legitimate reasons to vote for the Sportsmen's Bill and
to support cloture but not when this body has failed in its fundamental
obligation to make America safer and to rid it of gun violence. We have
an obligation to take first things first and protect our children and
adopt the kinds of commonsense measures--background checks, mental
health initiatives, school safety, and a ban on illegal trafficking--
that are easily within reach and would be passed by a majority of this
body if presented for another vote and if a majority of Members voting
was sufficient rather than the 60 votes that is now our threshold.
I am reminded today of a victim of gun violence over this very
weekend in the early morning of Sunday. A young woman in Bridgeport was
gunned down by her ex-boyfriend, raging into her mother's house. First
he shot her mother's boyfriend and then turned his gun on her because
she had the audacity to end their relationship.
Her story puts a face on the reason I have offered a measure named
after Lori Jackson, another victim of gun violence, to impose
commonsense steps to take guns away from the people who are under
temporary restraining orders as well as permanent restraining orders.
Whether that kind of measure would have worked in this case is
irrelevant. Her death was unnecessary, preventable, tragic, and painful
to her family, not to mention her mom, who was in the house at the time
she was gunned down and murdered.
Her death occurred within 75 minutes of another death in Bridgeport.
On the east side, Abraham ``A.B.'' Davidson, a 23-year-old young man,
was sitting on his house porch on Barnum Avenue in Bridgeport--gunned
down.
In the case of Kiromy Fontanez--the young woman who was shot by her
ex-boyfriend--the shooter, Jose Santiago, was apprehended almost
immediately and gave a confession. According to Bridgeport police, the
case is closed. The chief of the Bridgeport police, Chief Gaudett, had
this to say:
Three separate incidents, six people shot, two people dead.
I am very proud of the work that all of our officers do every
day, but especially last night. It was a really trying night
last night.
Chief Gaudett committed himself to begin a renewed effort against
domestic violence inspired by the death of this young woman, Kiromy
Fontanez.
In Connecticut we have already exceeded the number of domestic
violence deaths that occurred in all of last year. Her death was the
10th in 2014 alone. Domestic violence takes a terrible, awful,
unacceptable toll in lives and injuries, heartbreak and pain, and it is
so avoidable and unnecessary.
We need to do more about domestic violence, but, as my colleague
Senator Murphy has commented so well, the chances of death as a result
of domestic violence are increased by five times when there is a gun in
the house. Guns and domestic violence are a dangerous toxic mix, and
that is the reason for our legislation, the Lori Jackson Domestic
Violence Survivor Protection Act. The legislation we have offered takes
away guns, stops purchases and ownership of guns when there are
restraining orders, when there is an objective reason to think there
will be
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this kind of threat of violence and rage and wrath.
The memory of these two people--who died just yesterday morning in
the early hours of the Sunday following Independence Day--should focus
our attention again on what is important, what should be our priority,
what should be our first steps when it comes to guns. That is to make
America safer.
Four months after the brutal murders in Sandy Hook, this body said no
to the grieving Newtown families, to the people of Connecticut, and to
the vast majority of American people who continue to support
commonsense measures such as background checks. This body voted to
prevent gun violence legislation from getting a final vote.
Today we will vote on cloture on the motion to proceed to the
sportsmen's bill. The fact that we are now considering this legislation
to expand recreational shooting on Federal lands without addressing the
scourge of gun violence is a stark reminder of the Congress's misplaced
priorities and unfulfilled obligations.
I sympathize with what my great colleague Senator Hagan is trying to
do. If the legislation we are considering were part of a broader
national discussion and conversation about who should possess guns and
how we should keep them out of the hands of dangerous people--criminals
and mentally troubled people who are dangerous to themselves or
others--it would be a different debate on the floor and the
considerations for me would be different on this vote.
I spent last week going from town to town in Connecticut listening to
constituents who asked me, What are you doing in Washington? What I
heard a lot was, What are you doing in Washington to stop gun violence?
When will you bring back the measures to stop gun violence that are the
legacy and the lesson of Sandy Hook--a tragedy that still causes so
much pain to so many people, thinking of those families, the 20
beautiful children and brave educators whose lives were lost that day.
I cannot go back to Connecticut and tell those people who asked me
about what we are doing about guns in America that what we have done is
made it easier for Americans to shoot at targets, made it easier for
big game trophy hunters to bring their polar bear rugs back from
Canadian hunting grounds, and reduced regulations that govern shell
cases. That is not my idea of where our priorities should be.
First things first. Let's stop gun violence. Let's at least take
steps to reduce its horrific toll of death and injury, its cost in
dollars. Let's try to find that bipartisan ground on reducing domestic
violence or reaching out to people who need mental health treatment,
and let's find common ground on making America safer. That common
ground serves our best instincts--what makes our Nation the greatest
Nation in the history of the world, a nation whose independence we
celebrated this weekend, with pride and joy, even as the terrible toll
of gun violence continued in yesterday's early morning, over the
weekend throughout America, where tens of thousands of deaths have
followed the tragic, horrific, unspeakable tragedy of Sandy Hook.
I will vote against this legislation, against invoking cloture, with
sadness and regret that that obligation and promise is as yet
unfulfilled.
Thank you. I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from North Carolina.
Bipartisan Sportsmen's Act
Mrs. HAGAN. Madam President, in a few minutes the Senate will vote on
whether to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to the Bipartisan
Sportsmen's Act of 2014, a bill I introduced earlier this year with my
friend and colleague from Alaska, Senator Murkowski.
I am proud that by working alongside our colleagues on both sides of
the aisle, we have crafted a package of 12 provisions that have broad
bipartisan support. I will be back on the floor at a later time to give
a much more thorough, open, and indepth presentation on our bill, but I
wish to take a couple of minutes to highlight a couple of the key
provisions.
One is to ensure that future generations do have an opportunity to
enjoy our great outdoors as we do today. The Bipartisan Sportsmen's Act
reauthorizes several landmark conservation programs, including the
North American Wetlands Conservation Act, the Federal Land Transaction
Facilitation Act, and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.
Our bill also includes regulatory reforms and enhancements that will
benefit sportsmen and women across our country. For example, States
will be able to allocate a greater portion of the Federal Pittman-
Robertson funding to create and maintain shooting ranges on public
land. This is important because we are currently facing a shortage of
public shooting ranges across the country.
We will also enable hunters to purchase an electronic duck stamp. I
can personally vouch for the benefits of this provision. Our son-in-law
came to visit one year. My husband planned to take him duck hunting
toward the end of the season. Unfortunately, three different places had
sold out of duck stamps. When my husband buys his duck stamp for the
season, he actually purchases extra ones, just in case family or
friends come to visit during duck season. Senator Wicker's electronic
duck stamp provision will allow my husband and other hunters to
purchase duck stamps online--this is 2014--instead of traveling from
post office to post office in search of a duck stamp.
The Bipartisan Sportsmen's Act will also help improve access for
hunting and fishing on public lands and will require 1.5 percent, or
$10 million, of annual Land and Water Conservation Fund money to be
used to improve the access on our public lands.
It is important to note that we accomplish all of this without adding
anything to the deficit. In fact, this act actually reduces the deficit
by $5 million over the next 10 years.
I believe we have assembled a strong bill that is going to benefit
the anglers, the outdoor recreation enthusiasts, and the hunters in
North Carolina and nationwide. I am proud to say this bipartisan act
has 45 cosponsors--18 Democrats, 26 Republicans, and one Independent.
We have cosponsors of all ideological backgrounds from every region of
the country.
The list of organizations supporting our bill is also long and
diverse. Over 40 organizations have endorsed the Bipartisan Sportsmen's
Act, ranging from the National Shooting Sports Foundation to the
Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, to Ducks Unlimited.
Outdoor recreation activities are part of the fabric of so many
States, including North Carolina. From the Great Smoky Mountains
National Park in the west to the Cape Hatteras National Seashore in the
east, North Carolinians are passionate about the outdoors. Hunting,
fishing, and hiking are a way of life, and many of these traditions
have been handed down through my own family.
I am glad the Senate will debate the Bipartisan Sportsmen's Act. In
putting our bill together, Senator Murkowski and I tried to pull the
best ideas from Members of both of our parties. However, I do recognize
that Members on both sides of the aisle have ideas for how to
strengthen this bill. It is my hope we can take up, debate, and vote on
sportsmen's-related amendments this week. I encourage my colleagues who
have amendments to file them and come to the floor to discuss them.
In closing, this Bipartisan Sportsmen's Act of 2014 is a balanced
bipartisan plan that is endorsed by 40 stakeholders, and it is fiscally
responsible. I urge my colleagues to vote to invoke cloture on the
motion to proceed to the bill so we can start debating steps we can
take to benefit the more than 90 million sportsmen and women across the
country.
Thank you. I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Iowa.
Reforming Foster Care
Mr. GRASSLEY. Madam President, for many years I have been an advocate
for reforming the foster care system and making sure the government is
doing the best it can to protect and care for those who are abused,
neglected, and particularly when they are removed from their families.
That is why Senator Landrieu of Louisiana and I started the Senate
Caucus on Foster Youth. We wanted a forum to discuss policies and
practices and to learn more about the challenges foster young people
face. We want to make a
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difference in the lives of vulnerable young people who don't have a
permanent place to call home.
The caucus cannot function without the input and the insight from
foster young people. These young people are the experts on the foster
care system. They have been through it. They know the challenges. They
tell us in this caucus what works and what needs to change. They share
the experiences and provide us with real-world stories about how our
policies truly affect them.
I wish to highlight the story of one particular person whom I have
had the privilege of getting to know. Amnoni Myers is an intern in my
office this summer. She is participating in the Congressional Coalition
on Adoption Institute's Foster Youth Internship Program. I wish to tell
her story because it is important not to forget there are young people
in this country such as Amnoni who don't have a permanent family or a
place to call home. Despite her circumstances, Amnoni has risen up and
made a better life for herself. So allow me to share her story.
Amnoni Myers, a native of Boston, became a ward of the State on the
day she was born. She was abandoned at birth. When she was 6 months
old, Amnoni's great aunt learned of Amnoni and her two other siblings
and decided to take care of them by taking them into her home. She
lived in her great aunt's care for 10 years. Even though she had a
better family environment, life still presented her with many
challenges. Amnoni struggled with rejection and trauma at a very young
age, resulting from different types of abuse.
At the age of 10, Amnoni was reunited with her biological mother
because the State granted her temporary custody. Amnoni thought her
life was finally secure. Wouldn't we think so, being at home with our
birth mother? Her mother promised to care for her and never give her up
again. Unfortunately, after 2 short years, Amnoni's mother voluntarily
returned her and her siblings back to the State.
So at the age of 12, Amnoni was separated from her siblings and
placed with foster families until the age of 18. Although Amnoni and
her brother were placed together for a short period of time, they were
later separated as Amnoni moved around in the system. During her time
in foster care, she was moved several times, never experiencing
permanency or stability. That is one of the things I learned through
the work of this caucus; that when we talk to people who are in foster
care, what do they want? They want permanency. They want a real mom and
dad, and they would like to have a place to call home.
To Amnoni, foster parents seemed more interested in cash benefits for
parenting rather than human investment. She experienced emotional and
verbal abuse in places she stayed. She didn't know unconditional love.
Her foster families didn't take the time to manage her trauma but
instead added to it.
One of the most difficult experiences Amnoni faced was aging out of
the foster care system, and aging out issues with these young people is
exactly why Senator Landrieu and I established the caucus I have
already spoken about.
During the summer, while still in care, Amnoni entered an intense
college preparation program that would determine if she was adequately
prepared to enroll in a postsecondary institution. Already anxious
about the future of her success and if she would be able to handle the
workload of the program, she received a phone call from her social
worker that afternoon. The bad news came that she was aging out. She
was told that her foster mother was no longer being paid for Amnoni's
bed. Because the money was running out for her foster parents, Amnoni
was forced to leave the home immediately.
The shock and devastation of those words crushed Amnoni. She lived in
that home with that family for 3 years. She considered it a long-term
living situation. Amnoni returned to find her belongings packed in
garbage bags waiting for her at the door. That is a story our caucus
often hears.
Amnoni aged out of the system in a way no person should have to
experience. She left a place she considered home, not knowing what her
future would hold. She was on her own, shoved into independence with no
family, support or a place to call home.
Amnoni's aging-out experience left her feeling shattered and
confused. She felt betrayed by both her foster mother, who claimed to
love her, and the child welfare system--in other words, the State she
lived in--that claimed to protect her. While this experience quickly
taught Amnoni the value of independence, she would have preferred to
have a smoother transition into that independence.
When Amnoni left her so-called home at age 18, she was taken in by a
former mentor and her family. She resided there for 5 years. Living
there was a reminder that love, family, and support do exist.
In 2008 Amnoni learned she had post-traumatic stress disorder,
depression, and anxiety. These diagnoses led her to take a break from
school to gain control over these disruptions. Amnoni entered into a
Christian residential program, Mercy Ministries, where she was able to
gain a better understanding of herself. This experience motivated her
to attend Gordon College, a Christian institution outside of Boston.
Today she is working in my office, sitting in this Chamber with me,
learning how government works. She is becoming an advocate for foster
youth who face the same experiences she faced.
Despite the challenges, Amnoni feels very fortunate. She has been
able to attend college, graduate this year, and hopes to pursue a
meaningful career. Knowing that many children and youth do not have
adequate support systems in their life to help them along their life
journey, Amnoni pursued an education in social work and sociology.
Many people who have gone through similar experiences resort to other
paths because of the lack of support and services. Many foster children
age out of the system without supportive services in place to ensure
healthier lives. Thankfully, Amnoni has had a network of support to
guide and direct her through difficult times.
Amnoni's experience has fueled her passion to advocate for those who
do not have a voice to fight for themselves. As Amnoni looks back on
her life, she realizes her past does not have to determine her future.
She is on her way to becoming a monumental figure for those who have
suffered, giving youth across the country a voice and making a
difference in this world.
I appreciate her willingness to let me share her story. It is so
typical of so much that we hear in the caucus that Senator Landrieu and
I formed. This young girl is a very brave woman. She knows we can learn
from her. We will learn from her. We must do right by her and others in
the foster care system.
I hope my colleagues have a chance to say hello to Amnoni while she
is here in Washington, DC, and take a minute to commend her for being
an advocate for other youth.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Pennsylvania.
Mr. CASEY. Madam President, I ask to speak on the nomination that is
pending.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator is recognized.
____________________