[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 108 (Wednesday, July 6, 2016)]
[House]
[Page H4289]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   REDUCE THE SCOURGE OF GUN VIOLENCE

  (Ms. PINGREE asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. PINGREE. Mr. Speaker, last week, a few days after my colleagues 
and I sat down right here in the House to demand action on legislation 
to reduce gun violence, I went home to Maine. I heard from so many of 
my constituents who asked: Is something finally going to happen in 
Washington on this issue?
  Well, I don't have a crystal ball, and we live in an unpredictable 
time, so that is a hard question to answer. But it was especially hard 
to answer last week when the person asking was the daughter of the 
principal who was killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School or the parents 
of a young woman shot and killed in Maine by a handgun that had been 
sold without a background check.
  The question was not just for me; it was for all of us. Will we 
finally do something to reduce the scourge of gun violence that is 
sweeping this country? Will we finally do something to limit access to 
guns by criminals and suspected terrorists?
  Erica wants to know because her mother was killed by an assault rifle 
as she protected students at Sandy Hook. Judi and Wayne want to know 
because their daughter was shot with a handgun while she slept in her 
apartment.
  Mr. Speaker, I hope our answer is yes.

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