[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 96 (Thursday, June 16, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4257-S4258]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         GUN SAFETY LEGISLATION

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, for 14 hours and 50 minutes, beginning late 
Wednesday morning and ending early Thursday morning, the entire Nation 
watched as the junior Senator from Connecticut gave our Republican 
colleagues a lesson in a number of things, not the least of which was 
courage.
  Senator Murphy stood here for 14 hours. We talk a lot about 
filibusters in the Senate. They don't happen very often. I have been in 
Congress for 34 years. I have probably been involved in two more 
filibusters than anyone else. We have talked about them and there are 
fake filibusters, but this one was real.
  I admire and appreciate the junior Senator from Connecticut very 
much. Four days after 49 innocent Americans were gunned down in cold 
blood, Senator Murphy stood here on the Senate floor, as I have already 
indicated, for 14 hours, pleading with Republicans to join us in doing 
something to help stop our Nation's scourge of gun violence--and it is 
a scourge. Thirty-eight other Democrats joined him on the floor, all of 
whom, without exception, echoed Senator Murphy's call to keep guns out 
of the hands of terrorists and criminals.
  All 46 of us were united together, led by Senator Murphy in support 
of what he was doing. We all believe that he echoed the words that we 
wish to speak--to keep guns out of the hands of terrorists and 
criminals. It was an inspiring reminder to Americans that the Senate 
Democrats will not cave in to the National Rifle Association or Gun 
Owners of America. We will not cave in to them, and the people of this 
Nation responded to Senator Murphy's stand against gun violence in an 
overwhelming way.
  Throughout the course of Senator Murphy's filibuster, hundreds of our 
constituents came and watched from the Senate gallery. There were 
nearly 100 people still sitting in the gallery at 2:12 a.m. this 
morning as Senator Murphy brought his filibuster to a close. Thousands 
and thousands and thousands of constituents called Senate offices 
demanding that Congress do something to address this gun violence.
  Senator Murphy's filibuster took over social media. ``Hold the 
floor'' was the top-trending topic nationally and globally. Senator 
Murphy got the world's attention and certainly America's attention, and 
I hope the attention of the Senate Republicans.
  In the early morning hours, the Republican leader and I spoke. He 
indicated that he would commit to a vote on the Murphy-Booker-Feinstein 
legislation to expand background checks and the Feinstein measure to 
close the terror loophole, preventing terrorists from walking into a 
gun store and buying all the firearms and explosives they want.
  Why the passion by Senator Murphy? Why? Could it have been the deaths 
of these little babies by some madman walking into Sandy Hook 
Elementary School? Of course it was. He has indicated that he can't get 
that out of his mind. He thinks about that every day--not 24 hours a 
day, but every day.
  Why was Cory Booker here every minute of the time with Senator 
Murphy? He was here because he lives in an area where people are 
killed--several a week. He gave one of the most passionate speeches on 
Tuesday in our caucus about holding a little boy who was shot in the 
head and died in his arms.
  Senator Schumer, the third sponsor of this legislation, has been 
involved in gun issues since his early days in the House of 
Representatives. Dianne Feinstein--doing something about guns has been 
on her portfolio since she was a member of the board of supervisors of 
San Francisco. She became mayor as a result of the mayor being 
murdered. Dianne Feinstein led the charge a number of years ago to pass 
legislation on this floor when filibusters were not the way we did 
things around here, stopping every piece of legislation from going 
through. She persevered and

[[Page S4258]]

passed legislation to stop the easily obtainable assault weapons.
  Does anybody think these assault weapons are good for hunting or 
protecting your family? This evil man that went into this nightclub in 
Orlando, FL--I don't personally know how many clips he had, but he had 
at least three 30-bullet clips. It took less than 3 seconds to shoot 
those victims. They were all gone in less than 3 seconds. If you are 
really not very good at it, it takes a couple of seconds to reload. So 
to fire off 90 shells would take 10 or 15 seconds if that was what he 
wanted to do.
  Dianne Feinstein was right many years ago, and she is still right 
today. These assault weapons are not for the American people's 
entertainment, and they shouldn't be, but the NRA and Gun Owners of 
America love to sell these guns. We are going to vote on the Murphy-
Booker-Schumer legislation to expand background checks, and we are 
going to vote on the Feinstein measure to close up terrorist loopholes 
to prevent a terrorist from walking into a gun store and buying all of 
the firearms and explosives they want. These are commonsense safety 
measures that the American people overwhelmingly support.
  According to a December poll--December, September, October, August, 
it doesn't matter; it has been this way for years--almost 90 percent of 
Americans are in favor of expanding background checks. Ask anyone: Do 
we want a criminal or someone who has problems with their mental 
capacity to purchase a gun? Of course we don't. That is what background 
checks are all about. More than 80 percent of Americans want to close 
the so-called terror loophole preventing suspected terrorists from 
purchasing firearms, and legislation by Senator Feinstein will cover 
just that.
  I am glad that there will be votes, and I appreciate that very much. 
I shouldn't have to be appreciative about something that should just 
happen, but I am because around here we don't get votes on a lot of 
stuff.
  I want to be very clear: It is not enough for Republicans to simply 
let us vote. Democrats can't pass the gun safety legislation by 
ourselves. We are the minority party as a result of the elections 2 
years ago. It will change, and there will be a new majority in the 
first part of next year, but for now we are in the minority in this 
Chamber and Republicans must join us in order for those measures to 
pass. That will not happen if the Republicans continue to take their 
orders--and I mean orders--from the National Rifle Association and Gun 
Owners of America. We need Americans to understand that we need 
Republicans to follow Senator Murphy's and Senator Feinstein's lead and 
show courage in standing up to the gun lobby.
  In the aftermath of the worst shooting in modern American history, 
our constituents elected us for help. They want to feel safe, and they 
want to be safe. We can help provide that safety by closing the terror 
loophole and expanding background checks today and do it immediately. I 
hope Republicans will do the right thing and work with us to protect 
Americans from this gun violence. We need gun safety, not more guns. We 
must take a stand in the Senate and say enough is enough.

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