[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 41 (Tuesday, March 15, 2016)]
[House]
[Page H1349]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
GUN CONTROL
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from
California (Ms. Speier) for 5 minutes.
Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, on February 25, in Hesston, Kansas, a
disgruntled coworker killed Renee Benjamin, 30; Josh Higbee, 31; and
Brian Sadowsky, 44, with an imported Serbian AK-47-type assault weapon.
ATF has the power to ban these weapons. President George H.W. Bush
demanded a ban in 1989. Ironically, his son, President George W. Bush,
was pressured by the NRA when he took office to repeal the importation
of the assault weapon ban.
Today I am introducing the Imported Assault Weapons Ban, a bill that
would ban the importation of these assault weapons once and for all.
This continued bloodshed must stop. But, somehow, my colleagues
continue to accept outrageous violence as part of everyday life.
In February 2016--just last month--there were 35 mass shootings,
which is to say 35 acts of violence where four or more people were
wounded or killed. That is more than one per day.
Here are the real people who died because of gun violence in
February. Sadly, I don't have time on the floor today to name those who
were injured, but those who died include the following:
Marvin Douglass Lancaster, III, age 21, was killed while in an adult
club on February 6 in Tampa, Florida. Christopher Houston, 20, was also
shot there and died later.
Carlos Doroteo, 49, was killed while walking in his neighborhood on
February 6 in Los Angeles, California.
Jennifer Jacques, 42; Arthur Norton, 58; and Phinny Norton, 60, were
killed by Jennifer's 19-year-old son Dylan in their home on February 6
in Uvalde, Texas.
Ernesto Ayber, 29, was killed on February 7 in Rochester, New York.
Joseph Villalobos, 22, and Jonathan Avila Rojas, 33, were killed
inside a nightclub on February 7 in Orlando, Florida.
Carlos Bates, 29, and Isaiah Major, III, 43, were killed at a Mardi
Gras parade on February 7 in Pass Christian, Mississippi.
Dwight Hughes, Jr., 21, was killed on February 7 in Chicago,
Illinois.
Trisha Nelson, 28, was killed by her fiance, who was angry about
parking, as she fled their car on February 12 in Plymouth, Minnesota.
Her fiance was later killed in a shootout with police.
Armando Curiel, 17; Raul Lopez, 19; and his brother Angel Lopez, 20,
were killed in an SUV on February 18 in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Michael Broadnax, 41, was killed in a driveway on February 19 in
Vallejo, California. His son, Bomani Broadnax, 22, died later of his
injuries.
Officer James Lee Tartt, 44, was killed in a shootout on February 20
in Iuka, Mississippi. His family had just moved into their new home
just a month earlier.
Manual Ortiz, 28, was killed at a bar on February 20 in Tampa,
Florida. He had a month-old son.
Mary Lou Nye, 62; Mary Jo Nye, 60; Dorothy Brown, 74; and Barbara
Hawthorne, 68, were killed in a parking lot on February 21 in
Kalamazoo, Michigan. The gunman then killed Rich Smith, 53, and son
Tyler Smith, 17.
Emma Wallace, 37, was killed in a car on February 21 in Hazelwood,
Missouri.
The Buckner family, including mother Kimberly, father Vic, 18-year-
old daughter Kaitlin, and 6-year-old daughter Emma, were killed at
their family home on February 23 in Phoenix, Arizona. Their son, the
shooter, was killed by police.
A deputy sheriff, Corporal Nate Carrigan, 35, was killed while
serving an eviction notice on February 24 in Bailey, Colorado.
Lana Carlson, 49, and her sons Quinn, 16, and Tory, 18, as well as
their neighbor, Donna Reed, 68, were killed at their home by Lana's
husband on February 25 in Belfair, Washington.
Crystal Hamilton, 29, was killed by her husband on February 27 in
Woodbridge, Virginia. Officer Ashley Guindon, also 29, was killed while
responding to the scene. It was her first shift as a police officer.
An unidentified man was killed in a parking lot on February 28 in
Riverside, California.
May the dead rest in peace, the wounded recover quickly and
completely, and the bereaved receive comfort. These are the faces of
Americans gunned down because we lack the guts to do anything about gun
violence.
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