[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 100 (Wednesday, June 22, 2016)]
[House]
[Pages H4063-H4064]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1100
         LET'S DO SOMETHING TO PROTECT THE CHILDREN OF AMERICA

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Massachusetts (Mr. Capuano) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. CAPUANO. Mr. Speaker, pretty much everything has been said, 
except I think, obviously, the leadership is still not hearing us. And 
it is not just us who are saying this; the American people are saying 
this.
  Everyone has seen the polls. Everyone knows the reality that, in the 
last couple of weeks, 90 percent of the American people want us to do 
very simple things: no fly, no buy and closing gaping, not small, but 
gaping loopholes in the background check.
  Now, like some of my colleagues, I personally would go further. My 
constituents would support that. There are many things we could be 
doing, but we are not asking for those things because we know that is a 
difficult lift in the House of Representatives.
  But I represent the same number of people as every other Member here, 
about 750,000 people. And when 90 percent of those constituents in 
every district wants us to take simple, direct action, I think it is a 
dereliction of duty and responsibility and our oath to ignore that 
unless there is some moral reason for us to disagree with some 
constituents. On this issue, I can't believe anyone has a moral 
disagreement with this.
  Everyone's talking about Orlando, and that is obviously the most 
important, most compelling one. But since the Orlando shooting, in the 
last 10 days, the last 10 days in America, there have been 77 people, 
at least, killed with guns--at least.
  And I say that because many of these things get minimal reporting. 
Why? Because all of us are used to turning on the local news in every 
corner of this country every single night and seeing another act of 
violence, almost always committed with a gun, across America. It is not 
an urban problem or a rural problem; it is across the country. And we 
have become a little desensitized to it because it happens all the 
time.
  Once in a while, we will get an Orlando tragedy or a Sandy Hook 
tragedy, and we will all jump up and down and say how upset we are. 
But, as has been pointed out many times, we don't seem to get all that 
upset when two or three people get shot in the middle of some other 
place.
  Sometimes, we think: well, it is probably just gang violence. It is 
just one gang member shooting another gang member. Maybe they deserve 
it. America is better off.
  How do you say that when there is a 3-year-old who gets shot, or a 7-
year-old? How dare you say that. Or a woman walking down the street, or 
people literally just sitting in their homes innocently.
  People say that some of the proposals that have been made wouldn't 
have stopped Orlando or wouldn't have stopped Sandy Hook or wouldn't 
have stopped something else. You know what? Maybe they are right. I 
don't know. But I have never in my life, either politically or 
personally, used the excuse that because I can't do everything that, 
therefore, I should do nothing. That is nothing more than a lame 
excuse.
  If we can save the life of one person by taking simple actions that 
everybody seems to agree with--if you can't fly, you can't buy a gun; 
close the loopholes in background checks--no one has a problem with 
background checks.
  Most Americans don't know there are loopholes. And I don't mean 
little ones. I mean gaping ones. As you heard earlier, about 40 percent 
of the guns sold in this country are not subject to background checks. 
That is not a loophole. That is a gaping loophole.

[[Page H4064]]

  In the last 10 days, 239 Americans have been injured with guns. Now, 
some say, well, it is in home defense, it is accidental shootings. And 
that is true. Some of them are.
  All this stuff is available to anybody who wants to take 5 minutes 
and do a simple Internet search like I did. There are dozens of 
reputable Web sites that have this information.
  One of them, the Gun Violence Archive--simple statistics, not 
advocating, statistics--in 2015, the last calendar year, they list 
13,433 deaths by gun. That is 36.8 per day. And, this year, we are on 
pace to exceed that. Of that, two children under the age of 11 per day 
were shot--two per day.
  Yes, about 10 percent of the incidents were home invasions, defensive 
use, and accidental shooting, which is why none of us are trying to 
impede law-abiding American citizens from owning a gun. But that leaves 
90 percent of the gun activity outside that. For us to not take action, 
in my opinion, is indefensible.
  In 18 years, I have never participated in this Morning Hour 
discussion. I haven't done it because I find most of this, more often 
than not, somebody's reason to make a political statement. And I guess 
on some levels that is what I am doing right now.
  But, on occasion, things get to the point where we, as a group, have 
to stand up, that we, individually, have to stand up and demand what is 
the simplest action imaginable--if you are too dangerous to fly, you 
are too dangerous to buy--the simplest action, put it on the floor.
  I would respect someone for coming up and voting ``no.'' I would 
disagree, but at least they wouldn't be able to hide behind their own 
political rhetoric that somehow people like me are trying to pull guns 
away from them.
  The truth is it is a simple action. And I will tell you, as a House 
Member, I am a bit embarrassed that the Senate was at least able to put 
it on the floor. At least they will have to answer to their 
constituents.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
  Mr. CAPUANO. I understand that, Mr. Speaker. This issue has not 
expired, and this issue will not go away. And this issue will not be 
the end of this debate today or tomorrow, until we get a vote on these 
simple issues and do something to protect the children of America.

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