[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 108 (Wednesday, July 6, 2016)]
[House]
[Pages H4281-H4282]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       NO MORE MOMENTS OF SILENCE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Wisconsin (Mr. Pocan) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. POCAN. Mr. Speaker, I would like to introduce you to Caroline 
Nosal. Caroline was described by her friends as wonderful and sassy. 
She had a sharp wit and would say exactly what she thought. Friends 
said she was a vibrant friend with a great smile. Her parents said she 
was curious, caring, and kind.
  She loved books. She wasn't a bookish person, but she loved books, 
all kinds of books. Once with a friend shopping in a used bookstore, 
she picked up an old, well-read copy of an 18th century animal 
husbandry book, a subject she knew nothing about but just wanted to get 
because it was new to her. She did that a lot.
  She was passionate about animals as well. Once while driving to work, 
she accidentally hit a bird. She stopped, put it in a box, and took it 
to the Humane Society on her way to work. Even though she was late to 
work, she knew she had done the right thing.
  But in early February of this year, in Madison, Wisconsin, Caroline 
Nosal was shot to death by a troubled, disgruntled coworker who used to 
harass her and who had just bought a gun 24 hours earlier.
  Only months before this tragedy occurred, Governor Scott Walker and 
the legislature in Wisconsin changed a decades-old Wisconsin law that 
had required a 48-hour waiting period to buy a handgun, a measure that, 
if in place, might have saved Caroline.
  You see, the assailant got fired, went out and bought the gun with 
the plan to immediately shoot her; but since he had never fired a gun, 
instead, he took it to target practice so he could learn how to shoot 
it. He bought the gun on Monday, and on Tuesday used it to

[[Page H4282]]

shoot Caroline Nosal in the chest and in the head. Later, after police 
picked him up, he said it was easy to kill Nosal, that he was angry 
with her. He said: ``I'm glad I didn't hit her. I don't know what else, 
I guess I'm sorry, but . . . I don't know if I am sorry, I'm just glad 
I didn't hit her.'' Instead, he shot her twice to her death.
  Last Wednesday, House Democrats from across the country held a 
National Day of Action for commonsense gun violence prevention. I held 
a rally in Madison, Wisconsin, where a couple hundred people showed up 
to support commonsense changes. It was at that rally where I met 
Caroline's father, Jim Nosal. Jim and his wife, Jane, are reminders 
that gun violence can affect any family and that people have a right to 
be free of gun violence in their communities. The Day of Action 
followed our historic taking over of the House floor to demand action 
on gun violence, especially following the Nation's largest mass 
shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando.
  We are urging Congress to act on commonsense gun reform, commonsense 
gun reform measures like expanded background checks and no fly, no buy. 
These ideas aren't necessarily progressive pipe dreams; they are the 
first necessary steps toward preventing gun violence. In a recent poll, 
92 percent of respondents said they were in favor of expanding 
background checks.
  While the Speaker may claim that the House Democratic sit-in was 
disrespectful to the institution, what is truly disrespectful is to 
stand idly by and allow more tragic stories like Caroline's to unfold. 
In Congress, we have the opportunity to save lives and reduce the gun 
violence epidemic in our country. Instead, the majority has decided to 
trot out a toothless bill crafted by the NRA that does nothing to keep 
gun violence out of our communities.
  If the Speaker won't listen to the House Democrats' calls for real 
action to prevent gun violence, maybe he will listen to those of his 
own constituents. The night of the sit-in, we put out a call for 
comments, and over 500 people commented, including dozens from the 
Speaker's district and neighboring districts. Let me read just a few of 
those comments.
  Jane, from Racine, said: ``We've had too many moments of silence. 
It's time for action.''
  Karen in Kenosha: ``It breaks my heart as a veteran teacher to now 
have to teach students to barricade doors and fight back against a 
person who is trying to kill them with a semiautomatic weapon. What 
horrible damage is being done to their young psyches as they try and 
learn with this threat of violence ever present? Please vote for gun 
control now.''
  Jim, from Mount Pleasant, said: ``As a law enforcement officer, I 
support background checks. We've seen officers injured by people with 
legal guns.''
  Gloria, from Racine, said: ``There's nothing worse than hugging a mom 
who lost her child to gun violence. I'm tired of going to those 
vigils.''
  And, finally, Quinn, 9 years old, from Somers, Wisconsin: ``People 
don't want to get shot and die.''
  Speaker Ryan, you don't have to listen to us. Listen to your 
constituents. Listen to 9-year-old Quinn, who doesn't want to get shot 
and die. Listen to parents like Jim and Jane Nosal, who want to spare 
other families the pain that they have had to endure.
  No more moments of silence. It is time for moments of action, Mr. 
Speaker. It is time for moments of action.

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