[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 102 (Wednesday, June 24, 2015)]
[House]
[Pages H4635-H4639]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              PROGRESSIVE CAUCUS: ADDRESSING GUN VIOLENCE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Jody B. Hice of Georgia). Under the 
Speaker's announced policy of January 6, 2015, the gentlewoman from New 
Jersey (Mrs. Watson Coleman) is recognized for 60 minutes as the 
designee of the minority leader.


                             General Leave

  Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and 
include extraneous material on the subject of my Special Order.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from New Jersey?
  There was no objection.
  Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN. As we do almost every week, my colleagues and I 
are here on the floor this evening to urge the people's House to take 
up the issues that matter to the people.
  This week, we are still reeling from the tragedy in South Carolina. 
My colleagues and I are urging Members on both sides of the aisle to 
take a look at an issue we have consistently and painfully avoided for 
years, what we are doing to prevent gun violence.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Michigan (Mrs. 
Lawrence).
  Mrs. LAWRENCE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the 
Second Amendment and Americans' rights to reasonable, responsible gun 
ownership; but it is time for us in America to admit we have a problem.
  When I see more than two dozen people shot in one weekend in my 
hometown of Detroit, when I see the face of a deranged and hate-fueled 
young man--a man who should have never had a gun but was able to 
destroy the lives of nine amazing people who welcomed him into their 
church in South Carolina--I know it is time for America to embrace 
commonsense gun control.
  In the span of about 24 hours, 27 people were shot and 3 were killed 
in Detroit, Michigan. It is a city that I represent, along with my 
esteemed colleague Congressman John Conyers. The FBI and the Detroit 
Police Department confirm that, in the city of Detroit, overall crime 
is down; yet gun deaths are on the rise.
  Ninety percent of Americans who were polled want universal background 
checks for gun purchases. That is 90 percent. What are we waiting for?
  There is not a Member of Congress who has not been touched by gun 
violence. That includes one of our own, a colleague that was highly 
respected, Gabby Giffords.
  How many more deaths must families and communities endure? How many 
more funerals must we attend? How many children must be orphaned? How 
many parents must suffer the unspeakable heartbreak of losing a child?
  There is no question that we must act, and we must act now. How many 
times must we watch on national news what uncontrolled gun violence can 
do to our country?
  That action must focus on three principles: establish universal 
background checks; eliminate the gun show loopholes that allow a person 
to walk in, pick up a gun, and walk out the door; and enforce our 
existing gun control laws.
  We have seen countries all over the globe who are not experiencing 
the gun violence that we have here in America, and their citizens have 
the right to own guns.
  It is time for us to awaken from a sleep of the past and address this 
issue and address it now.
  Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN. I thank the gentlewoman for taking the time to 
join us and sharing that important message. I join her in her 
sentiments.
  I now yield to the gentlewoman from Illinois (Ms. Kelly).
  Ms. KELLY of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for yielding 
as we continue this important conversation.
  Every day in America, we navigate the threat of gun violence. From 
metal detectors in public buildings to shooting safety drills at 
schools and movie theaters, guns affect how we live and whether we live 
at all; yet, when gun violence intruded into the most sacred of places, 
piercing the peace of prayer at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, it 
stirred a sickening sadness within us.

                              {time}  1745

  It was a searing reminder that there is no corner of our country that 
offers a haven for us when guns end up in the wrong hands.

[[Page H4636]]

  We are here today because of Charleston, to remember the lives of the 
nine souls who were lost. It is a ritual we have on automatic repeat, 
again and again, massacre after massacre, as an end run around real gun 
reform.
  We have the conviction covered. What we have lacked in Congress is 
the courage to do the right thing. The Charleston 9 are victims of this 
lack of courage, as are the 30,000 Americans who die each year from gun 
violence.
  For the first time in history, this year, gun deaths are on pace to 
be the leading cause of death of Americans aged 15-24. We are losing a 
generation of young Americans to guns. The future of our Nation is, 
quite literally, at stake.
  All across America, children are growing up in fear. Kids play tag 
indoors. Mothers second-guess on letting their children walk to school. 
Some studies suggest that repeated exposure to shootings in some 
communities is akin to the trauma suffered by soldiers in war zones.
  We as a nation have accepted gun violence as a fact of life. But we 
are better than this.
  In the Kelly Report on Gun Violence in America, I outlined a number 
of effective strategies to stop the bloodshed, which includes expanding 
gun background checks.
  I implore my colleagues to listen to your conscience and the 
conscience of the country you represent and work with me to chart a new 
course for a safer America. There is overwhelming public support for 
commonsense gun reform. Responsible gun owners support responsible gun 
laws. We can strike a sensible balance on gun reform that protects our 
Second Amendment rights while also ensuring the basic human right of 
all Americans to live free from gun violence.
  How many more massacres must we endure? How many more innocent people 
will we allow to be murdered on our watch?
  The time has come for Congress to have the courage of our 
convictions, to honor through action by expanding background checks to 
keep these depraved killers from getting their hands on guns, and the 
other gun safety laws that we have talked about in the past.
  We have the power to stop the next Charleston, Newtown, and Aurora so 
that no other American city becomes synonymous with gun tragedy. We 
have the moral imperative to stop an epidemic that claims more 
casualties than war and disease, combined.
  Congress must put saving American lives at the top of our agenda. We 
owe it to the Charleston 9 and to all who have fallen before them, as 
we owe it to a generation of young people at risk of meeting a similar 
fate.
  I thank the gentlewoman from New Jersey.
  Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN. I thank the gentlewoman for her remarks, and I 
associate myself with the concerns raised through them.
  Mr. Speaker, my heart is heavy right now. I never thought that I 
would be in Washington representing the people of the 12th District in 
the State of New Jersey, but never in my wildest imagination did I 
think that I would be on the floor of this body mourning the nine 
Americans murdered for the color of their skin in the midst of worship, 
at a church that was part of the fight for our civil rights.
  In what has become a disturbingly routine order of events, we watch, 
horrified, as the helicopter circles a church, a movie theater, a 
college campus, or a school. A breaking news headline parades across 
the screen, keeping track of the developing details. The next day, we 
debate the mental stability or motive of the shooter. We ask where they 
purchased the weapon. We ponder the merits of changing our Nation's 
laws to keep more Americans safe. And then, inevitably, we do nothing, 
and the cycle repeats.
  The rate of mass shootings has steadily risen since 2000. President 
Barack Obama has himself addressed the Nation for at least a dozen of 
these incidents since the beginning of his first term. We are the only 
developed nation in the world that has this problem, and we need to 
wake up and ask ourselves why.
  We are told that more guns will keep us safe. We are told that 
requiring background checks for every purchase, with no exceptions, is 
too intrusive. We are told that our constitutional right to bear arms 
should cover every weapon, from a simple handgun to a machine gun, 
whose only purpose is to cause massive and irreparable harm.
  Mr. Speaker, we are here tonight because we know that these 
statements are, at the very least, misleading and, more likely, 
outright falsehoods.
  We stand together on behalf of the millions of Americans who agree 
that the shooting in Tucson, Arizona, that wounded one of our own 
should have been our last; that the lives lost in Aurora, Colorado, 
should have been the last; that the babies we lost in Newtown, 
Connecticut, should have moved us to change the ease with which we 
allow access to firearms.
  We are asking our colleagues on both sides of the aisle whether they 
are willing to make this newest addition to a painful list the very 
last. I hope when we close our remarks this evening that every one of 
us will see the need for change.
  Mr. Speaker, it is now my pleasure to yield to a fellow freshman, who 
has introduced legislation today that would keep firearms out of the 
hands of criminals, the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Beyer).
  Mr. BEYER. Mr. Speaker, every day, 88 Americans are killed by guns. 
The gun homicide rate in the U.S. is 20 times higher than other 
developed nations. How long before enough is enough?
  Today, I am introducing the Keeping Guns from Criminals Act, 
commonsense gun violence prevention legislation that will close a 
loophole in current Federal law, that allows straw purchasers and gun 
traffickers to funnel firearms to felons, juveniles and other 
restricted purchasers, with little to no risk of being prosecuted.
  While Federal law clearly prohibits the sale of a gun to a felon or 
other persons deemed not eligible to possess a firearm, the standard 
required to prosecute violators is so high that law enforcement is 
rarely able to bring charges. Only if the prosecutor can prove the 
seller knew the buyer was prohibited from purchasing a gun are they 
able to successfully prosecute. So unenforceable is the current statute 
that, on average, only 75 such prosecutions occur every year.
  My bill would make it easier to prosecute these bad actors by making 
the sale of a firearm a strict liability. It is a crime, and the onus 
is on the seller to know whether the buyer is in the prohibited class 
of customers. No longer would a gun trafficker or irresponsible gun 
seller be able to claim they didn't know a purchaser was a criminal or 
had a restraining order against them or was on a terrorist watch list. 
No longer would we be tying the hands of law enforcement and preventing 
them from enforcing laws to protect our children. No longer would a 
prosecutor have to prove the intention or knowledge of wrongdoing 
required under current law.
  Mr. Speaker, no doubt, one of the arguments against this bill will be 
a complaint that a background check places an onerous burden upon the 
seller. But consider this: the seller and prospective buyer need only 
go to one of the many Federal Firearms Licensees, or FFL, who provide a 
private property transfer with a background check for only about $30.

  And consider that there are 130,000 FFLs in the United States. That 
is roughly nine times as many McDonald's as there are.
  Mr. Speaker, everyone, even the National Rifle Association, agrees 
that we have a responsibility to keep guns out of the hands of 
dangerous criminals. This legislation is a step in that direction, and 
I encourage my colleagues to please support it.
  Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for those 
remarks.
  Mr. Speaker, last Wednesday, Dylann Roof walked into Emanuel AME and 
stole the lives of nine innocent Americans. In the days since, somehow 
we have lost track of the real problems. We keep talking about a flag, 
a flag that is a symbol of many our Nation's most glaring problems, but 
it is only a symbol.
  I don't want to get too far off track, but I do want to make 
something perfectly clear. Symbols may matter, but they don't matter as 
much as the actions of police who consistently treat black men and 
women with clear and biased disregard. Symbols don't matter

[[Page H4637]]

as much as the mandatory sentencing laws that have propped up a prison 
industry with hundreds of thousands of Black men. Symbols don't matter 
as much as the predatory loan structures that put Black homeowners 
underwater and decimated the Black middle class, practices that banks 
were never truly held accountable for.
  So, alongside those calls to take down the flag, I would appreciate 
calls to acknowledge that persistent racism is not the only problem 
here. Pervasive and unnecessary gun violence is also one of our 
Nation's most pronounced flaws.
  Mr. Speaker, let me say this: I fully support the permanent removal 
of the Confederate flag. It represents one the darkest stains on our 
Nation's history. It represents baseless hate, disrespect for the civil 
rights and freedoms this Nation was founded upon, and enduring 
mistreatment in communities of color.
  But if we are really about the business of ending discrimination once 
and for all, we need to enact policies that will counteract everything 
that that flag represents: job training that ensures all of our 
communities are qualified for the jobs of the future; education that 
lets our students succeed, regardless of where they live; and 
affordable housing that exists outside of the urban centers, in the 
communities that can offer folks the jobs they need to get on their 
feet and to climb to the middle class.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, let me thank the gentlewoman from New 
Jersey for her consistent leadership and, particularly, her friendship, 
her passion for her district, and her commitment to policies that will 
lift all of us together as Americans.
  This is the first time, Mr. Speaker, that I have had an opportunity 
to speak on the floor of the House since the moving and horrific 
tragedy that occurred in Charleston, South Carolina, to be able to 
first publicly express my deepest sympathy to the families that now 
mourn.
  I think this may be the longest period of time that I have had a 
chance to speak. My recollection may be that I offered sympathies last 
week.
  But to take a moment to explore the heinousness of the acts of the 
perpetrator who knocked on a door that was not closed, entered a 
sanctuary that did not reject him, walked down some stairs to a 
historic basement that reminds all of us of our church basements across 
the Nation, being that houses of worship, in particular, African 
American churches, will have their Sunday or Sabbath school in areas 
that are basements, particularly along the northern and eastern coasts.
  We know that Sunday or Sabbath school is particular to all of our 
many denominations in the Protestant faith, and every one of us 
understands that weekly Bible study that, through the traditions of our 
lives, we have seen our families and grandmothers and grandfathers, 
aunts and uncles, and those of us who joined in Bible study. In fact, 
Mr. Speaker, a Bible study is a phenomenon of the American church, the 
Protestant Church, where people gather to study and to understand the 
Word.
  I said in a memorial service in Houston, it is a time of joy, a time 
of pain, a time of explaining one's self, and a time of redemption. And 
you feel good, for you join with your fellow travelers, and in a weary 
week, midweek, you come and restore yourself.
  I can imagine that during the time that this evildoer was there, 
there was a lot of laughing or asking questions about the Scripture; 
might have been some joyful, argumentative interpretation, where Bible 
study participants give their perception or their interpretation. I 
know this because, if you have gone, you know what Bible study is all 
about.
  In the course of that, the evildoer, filled with the sickness--and I 
hesitate to say ``cancer.'' Cancer is something that people do not 
voluntarily seek, but we know that cancer can eat at a body and kill 
someone.
  So the cancerous racism that this individual possessed and 
internalized and, in fact, duped himself and took the medicine and 
continued to fill himself with a deadly concoction that was going to do 
nothing but kill him, but before it killed him, he felt compelled to 
kill someone else.
  The money that he received for the celebrating of his 21st year, very 
young years--I guess what breaks my heart is how, in those young years, 
he could become so hateful. For as I said, he came into a place that 
did not reject him. He went down the stairs in a place where people 
were rejoicing.

                              {time}  1800

  And he, at the conclusion, after sitting next to Reverend Doctor 
Senator Pinckney, took out a gun and methodically killed those 
wonderful families--mothers and grandfathers and grandmothers and a son 
and father--without a pain.
  He took a gun that none of us would raise to any Member on this floor 
or none of us in our houses of worship would raise to any forlorn 
traveler, any weary person that would come into our place of worship, 
whether a mosque, a Catholic parish, a synagogue, a Hindu temple, or 
any form of Protestant church, big or small.
  Houston prides itself on having many, many denominations. In fact, we 
are now in the middle of Ramadan. Houston has many, many places of 
worship. I wouldn't venture to say I have been to all all over the 
world, but I have been to all in the city of Houston, my own 
congressional district, and each place, in their own faith, have 
welcomed people in.
  We only see where there are evildoers that people would blow up 
temples, mosques, synagogues, and churches. This person didn't blow it 
up a distance away. He methodically did this. And a mother had to watch 
a son try to rescue those, protect them.
  Heroes shown. The stories have not all been told, but we know that 
there were heroes in the midst. In fact, they all are heroes.
  So I come for two reasons. I come to indicate that much of what we 
heard here today is true, that for us to do honor to those who died in 
this disastrous massacre, murderous, blood flowing from the church, 
that it will have to be our actions. It will have to be what we do 
about education and criminal justice reform.
  I almost want to stop myself for the broken recordness of this 
because we will only do it in unity. We will only do it after we put 
aside contentious votes and we begin to say, What will heal America? We 
will not heal--and we have said this before--on the issue of cancerous 
racism unless we admit that it exists.
  Many of us will present to this Congress a resolution that calls upon 
the recognition that there are some symbols of hate that we cannot 
deny. We will frame it in America's unity, as has been noted already 
earlier today, Governors and State representatives and others of good 
thought. Mitt Romney, for example, joined with President Obama's tweet 
that it is the right thing to do, to take down that rebel symbol that 
has been used to run onto the plantations of yesteryear with 
individuals clothed in white clothing, providing fear, intimidation, 
and evildoing.
  Certainly we know the threats that Dr. King received during his life, 
or Medgar Evers during his life, who was murdered on his front porch, 
were all circling around people not talking about slavery. They were 
talking about desegregation and their opposition to desegregation and 
their support of upholding segregation.
  This symbol of evil is not far from our life of 2015. Many of us 
lived through it and saw the disaster of such. Many of us saw the 
killing of civil rights workers, bound in hatred and not wanting to 
change what did not unify America but divided America.
  So the guns that I have addressed now for the period of time that I 
have been here--I passed one of the few gun ordinances in a lawmaking 
body, the city council, which most people don't realize that some city 
governments give lawmaking legislative authority to their elected 
representatives. Houston, a noncity manager government, does that.
  And I remember that ordinance, amongst the mayor and city council 
persons, packed the chambers. People with revolutionary outfits, gun 
enthusiasts, the NRA, all opposing a simple gun ordinance that said 
that, if a parent allowed a child to get a gun in their hand and a 
horrific incident happened, a shooting or the child shot themselves, 
the parent would be held

[[Page H4638]]

responsible. It was some semblance of not taking a gun away, but trying 
to instill responsibility with guns.
  When we talk about this on the floor of the House, why all of a 
sudden, Mr. Speaker, does it become that we are against the Second 
Amendment and the National Rifle Association, and that this is going to 
be the undermining of this powerful organization if we even utter the 
words ``gun responsibility''? Why?
  Why in Newtown?
  I thought I had seen enough, heard enough when 20 little babies in a 
corner, no less, 6 adults murdered in a murderous fashion from someone 
who absolutely did not deserve a gun for whatever the reason, as they 
took their own life, or someone who now stands on trial in Colorado who 
decided that a night out with a dad and his daughter in a theater--
something that Americans know is part of our American culture. We are 
just moviegoers. We make the movie industry.
  In the old days, in those outdoor drive-ins that many remember were 
some of the best times with your family--and thank God they didn't cost 
a lot--or the sophisticated high-tech theaters of today, it is still 
the same. Dads and little girls are going to theaters together. And 
this criminally minded person, evildoer, decided to kill 12 or, to our 
very distinguished colleague, the Congresswoman from Arizona, who was 
maintaining the dignity of her office, was shot down in the street by a 
gun, killed a Federal judge and many others, a 9-year-old girl, her 
staff, whose memory that we continue to mourn.
  So, Mr. Speaker, I would offer to say that I joined with 
Congresswoman Watson Coleman to indicate that the issue of gun 
responsibility legislation is not even overdue. We are crying out for 
relief. The violence that is used with handguns and AK-47s and 
automatic weapons is unspeakable.
  We need to close the gun show loophole that allows people to go and 
get guns at gun shows. The name of my good friend Carolyn McCarthy and 
John Dingell, they worked together and had compromises. We could not 
get them on the floor of the House.
  We need to go even further. We need to be able to assure that where 
this evildoer brought the gun, his exposure to the criminal justice 
system should have disallowed him from purchase until he was completely 
vetted. Some say that he would have stolen one or gotten one out of the 
back of a pickup truck, but maybe, Mr. Speaker, he would not have been 
able to go on that fateful night down those stairs through that open 
door to kill those blessed souls who were studying the word of the 
Lord.
  So it is a challenge now. I know that those of us in the 
Congressional Progressive Caucus are Americans. I know that those who 
adhere to the Tea Party philosophy are Americans. To our various 
conservative caucuses that are in the Conference, our Republican 
friends, to the various caucuses that are in the Democratic Caucus, all 
are Americans. All felt the pain of the murderous act. In fact, it is 
almost like we are living in a cocoon. It is not over yet, as these 
families bury their loved ones.
  But I think it is upon us--it is an onerous responsibility--to 
confront this whole question of racism, as the President has charged us 
to do, and not do it with another round of conversation, but 
confronting the fact that we can begin by removing symbols and doing 
something proactively on changing lives.
  Then it is upon us to take on this gun responsibility question, to 
call the NRA to a table of reconciliation, to master a legislative 
agenda and an omnibus initiative that doesn't have anyone hiding under 
tables, that there will be no indictment of whether you are for or 
against. But we hope the majority would move this legislation forward 
to change the way young people, people who are on the edge, people who 
shouldn't have guns get guns and kill people. It is time for this 
Congress to pass the legislation. It is time for the President to be 
able to sign the legislation.

  Let me thank the gentlewoman from New Jersey for her genuine courtesy 
extended this evening to allow me to both mourn and condemn racism that 
has been the plight of many of our people in this country and to, as 
well, remind us that we are derelict in our duty if we do not pass real 
serious gun responsibility legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, last weekend we were faced with another example of what 
damage results from easy access to guns. The violence that took place 
in Charleston, South Carolina last week is something that is not new to 
our nation but is something that we can and must come together to 
prevent from happening in the future.
  As a senior member of the Judiciary Committee and the Ranking Member 
of its subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and 
Investigations, and the author of H.R. 65, ``Child Gun Safety and Gun 
Access Prevention Act, I am in support of our Congress coming together 
to find solutions to the issue of gun violence, through gun law reform 
and active engagement of our communities to get to the heart of these 
problems.
  Today, homicide is the second leading cause of death for young people 
ages 15 to 24 years old.
  Even more disturbing is the fact that homicide is the leading cause 
of death for African Americans between ages io and 24, and the second 
leading cause of death for Hispanic Americans.
  The leading weapon of choice used to kill those victims was a 
firearm. (82.8% were killed with a firearm.)
  Many guns are in the wrong hands, and end up being the highly 
efficient tools of criminals and mass murderers.
  Every 30 minutes, a child or teenager in America is injured by a gun.
  Every 3 hours and 15 minutes, a child or teenager loses their life to 
a firearm.
  In 2010, 82 children under 5 years of age lost their lives due to 
guns.
  To put that number in perspective, 58 law enforcement officers died 
in the line of duty that year.
  While preventing the deaths of so many young people should be our 
highest priority, we also need to address the broader culture of 
violence that pervades our society.
  The Members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus recognize the 
need for a comprehensive approach to addressing the problem of gun 
violence in America.
  Guns and the harm perpetrated by them impact every American and the 
events at Sandy Hook and Aurora only underscore how random gun violence 
events can be; but it is important to appreciate that regular gun 
violence has a particularly devastating impact on the communities we 
represent.
  We must use the tragedy in Charleston, which took the lives of nine 
innocent church members, as an opportunity to take action to improve 
the lives of all Americans.
  We need to reform current gun laws and implementing change that will 
prevent these types of events in the future.
  As the Founder and Co-Chair of the Congressional Children's Caucus 
and as a senior Member of the Judiciary Committee, I have listened far 
too often to the tragic testimony of individuals who have survived or 
lost loved ones as a result of gun violence.
  We respect the Second Amendment, but we understand that supporting 
universal background checks for all gun sales is not inconsistent with 
supporting responsible gun ownership. With rights come 
responsibilities.
  And responsible gun ownership requires at a minimum that guns in the 
home be stored safely out of reach of unsupervised children and making 
sure that guns are not transferred to non law abiding citizens or the 
mentally ill.
  My bill, H.R. 65 ``The Child Gun Safety and Gun Access Prevention Act 
of 2013'', would do just that.
  Mr. Speaker, gun violence has reached epidemic proportions.
  We must pass responsible gun violence prevention legislation like 
H.R. 65 and require universal background checks for all gun sales.
  Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Texas. 
She has always been a source of information and history. She has always 
tied our history into our current situation as she has always been 
someone who has motivated us to think sincerely about the issues of the 
day and how we can become part of the solution.
  Mr. Speaker, in closing, I just want to reiterate that I associate 
myself with every recommendation that this gentlewoman has put forth 
here. I do indeed believe that we need some sensible gun control 
legislation. I have even introduced legislation that makes it more 
difficult to secure ammunition. I do think that that is a very 
important component of creating a safer environment in this country for 
all citizens.
  I think also that we need to take a serious look at what this type of 
domestic terrorism is doing and whether or not we are devoting the type 
of resources that are necessary to ensure that our people are as safe 
as they can be.

[[Page H4639]]

  I think that we are very involved and very concerned and very 
proactive in looking at potential lone wolves, jihadists, ISIS 
recruitment activities, and things of that ilk, but I question whether 
or not we are sufficiently engaging in oversight, interventions, and 
creating tools in order to look at the sites that kind of generate the 
willingness of people such as Mr. Roof and his desire to do what he 
did.
  So I hope that in consort with what Mr. Thompson had earlier released 
that we are willing to hold hearings on the issue of domestic 
terrorism. I hope that we are willing to look at policies and 
procedures that create opportunities and jobs and safer communities and 
good public education.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank you for your indulgence. I yield the balance of 
my time.
  Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my friend from New 
Jersey, Congresswoman Watson Coleman, for organizing this very 
important special order.
  Mr. Speaker, we have a right to safety and to reasonably expect that 
we will be free from gun violence in our homes, schools, places of 
worship, workplaces, and communities. Unfortunately, we are not safe. 
As I said on the House floor the morning after the devastating murders 
in Charleston, ``there are no more sanctuaries in the United States 
from gun violence.''
  There is no question that we are not doing enough. We see the 
evidence in the news every day. Across the country, guns are the number 
two killer of children under 19 years of age. After Charleston, 
Newtown, the DC Navy Yard, Aurora, Fort Hood, Virginia Tech--the list 
goes on--it is clear that we need a comprehensive approach to 
preventing gun violence.
  Just like my colleagues, I have heard from hundreds of my 
constituents urging me to support commonsense policies that would help 
save lives from this senseless violence. I have cosponsored legislation 
to strengthen background checks, improve mental health services, ensure 
criminals and dangerous individuals cannot purchase guns or ammunition, 
ban military-style assault weapons, and prohibit large capacity 
magazines, and yet, none of these commonsense policies have even 
received a vote on the House floor.
  I refuse to stop fighting for this cause as long as 30,000 Americans 
needlessly die because of guns every year.
  In 2013, West Webster firefighter Ted Scardino came to Washington to 
give testimony on gun trafficking prevention. On the previous Christmas 
Eve, when Ted responded to a fire in the early morning hours along the 
shores of Lake Ontario, he had no way of knowing that a gunman had set 
the fire as part of a murderous plot that would leave him as well as 
fellow firefighter Joseph Hofstetter injured, and take the lives of two 
more firefighters, Mike Chiapperini and Tomasz Kaczowka.
  The gunman in this case was already a convicted killer. He was not 
able to legally purchase a gun himself, but was able to easily obtain 
one after recruiting a young woman who lived nearby. He took her to a 
sporting goods store where he picked out a Bushmaster semiautomatic 
rifle and a shotgun, and just like that a convicted killer had armed 
himself with military-style guns that he would use to murder two 
innocent public servants, wound two more, and upend the close-knit 
community of Webster, NY.
  I am deeply embarrassed that this body cannot manage to pass--or even 
vote on--legislation that would protect our families, friends, and 
fellow citizens Tragedy after tragedy happens, and yet we do not act. I 
am terrified at the thought of what it will take to finally bring this 
body to action.

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