[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 96 (Thursday, June 16, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Page S4295]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              GUN VIOLENCE

 Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I ask consent to have printed in 
the Record an article from June 15, 2016, in the Huffington Post, 
regarding the Orlando shooting and the urgent need for the Senate to 
take action on gun control.
  The material follows:

                  [The Huffington Post, June 15, 2016]

      On Gun Violence--Let's Come Together and Stop the Heartbreak

   (By Senator Barbara Boxer, Ranking Member, Senate Environment and 
                        Public Works Committee)

       Columbine. Virginia Tech. Fort Hood. Tucson. Aurora. 
     Newtown. Navy Yard. Isla Vista. Charleston. Umpqua. Colorado 
     Springs. San Bernardino.
       And now Orlando is etched into the list of places in 
     America that have been forever scarred by gun violence.
       In the aftermath of each of these deadly mass shootings, we 
     express our horror, our prayers for the victims and 
     survivors, our condolences, our thanks to the courageous 
     first responders--and of course, we must and we should. But 
     words are not enough.
       After the horrific tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School 
     four years ago, I was convinced that Congress would finally 
     take action to address that epidemic of gun violence that 
     kills more than 30,000 Americans every year. But only four 
     Republicans were willing to join with 51 Democrats and 
     independents, and so commonsense gun safety legislation was 
     once more derailed.
       That's why I am so proud that Senator Chris Murphy--joined 
     by his Connecticut colleague, Senator Richard Blumenthal--
     took to the Senate floor with a simple message: Enough is 
     enough. The Senate must address this issue with a vote.
       We may not be able to prevent every tragedy, but there is 
     so much we can do to save lives and protect our communities. 
     And we can do it while still protecting the Second Amendment. 
     We should start by taking these six commonsense steps right 
     now:
       We can pass legislation to prevent a suspected terrorist 
     from buying firearms or explosives.
       We can pass legislation to keep military-style weapons off 
     our streets. These are weapons of war, and they do not belong 
     in our communities.
       We can expand background checks--an idea supported by 
     almost 90 percent of the American people and a majority of 
     NRA members--which will help keep guns out of the hands of 
     criminals and the mentally ill.
       We can pass the Gun Violence Intervention Act, which would 
     allow families to go to court to seek a ``gun violence 
     prevention order'' to temporarily stop someone who poses a 
     threat to themselves or others from purchasing or possessing 
     a gun.
       We can increase funding for the Urban Area Security 
     Initiative (UASI), an important grant program that helps 
     communities plan how best to prevent and respond to acts of 
     terrorism.
       We can protect our children by investing in the 
     Comprehensive School Safety Initiative, which helps schools 
     develop school safety plans and provide critical safety 
     training to school personnel.
       We need a layered defense to protect our communities from 
     criminals and terrorists who want to inflict mass casualties, 
     and that is what these proposals would provide.
       We know that tough gun safety laws work. We have seen it in 
     other countries, like Australia. And we have seen it in my 
     state of California which--after passing sensible laws--saw a 
     56 percent drop in gun violence between 1993 and 2010, 
     according to the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence.
       People deserve to feel safe in their communities. They 
     deserve to feel safe at work, at school, at a shopping mall, 
     at a movie theater, at a health clinic, at a night club.
       As elected officials, we take an oath to protect and defend 
     the American people. Right now, we are failing at our most 
     basic task--keeping our children and our families safe from 
     harm.
       It isn't enough for us to keep lamenting these tragedies. 
     The people of Orlando, San Bernardino, Isla Vista, Newtown 
     and so many other communities want more than words. They want 
     action. And they want it now.

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