[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 109 (Thursday, July 7, 2016)]
[House]
[Pages H4477-H4478]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              GUN VIOLENCE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Maxine Waters) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. MAXINE WATERS of California. Mr. Speaker, 2 weeks ago, I joined 
with my colleagues here in the House of Representatives, and we took an 
extraordinary action. We sat in, we rallied, we challenged the 
Republican leadership, and we spoke out about gun violence in a way 
that we had never done before.
  We said to the leadership: Enough is enough; we have got to do 
something about these mass murders; we have got to do something about 
these guns.
  We challenged the leadership because we all know that the gun lobby 
has too much influence and too much control in this House. We also know 
that too many of our Members will not confront this issue on the 
opposite side of the aisle because, as it has been said, they are the 
handmaidens of the NRA. So we gathered, we spoke out, and we were 
talking about two simple bills that we wanted them to vote for.
  We are trying to educate the American people that those who do not 
want to go against the gun lobby will have the American citizens 
believe that we are trying to take away their guns. We are not trying 
to take away anybody's guns. This is not about the Constitution or the 
Second Amendment. We simply said we want to bring to the floor two 
simple pieces of legislation.
  One is no fly, no buy. What does that mean? It simply means if you 
are on the list of persons who are prevented from flying because you 
are suspected of being a possible person involved in terrorism or 
something of that sort, you cannot get on an airplane. It is something 
about your background, what you have done, and the connections that you 
have that will not allow you to place our people on the airplane at 
risk.
  So what we are saying is if you can't fly because you will place 
fliers at risk, you shouldn't be able to buy a gun. So that is what no 
fly, no buy is all about. If you are too dangerous to fly, then you 
shouldn't be able to go and purchase a gun. That is very simple.
  The other is universal background checks, and that is very simple. We 
have some background check laws, but still there are people who sell 
guns out of the back of their car at these gun shows, and they have no 
background checks. They could be murderers, they could be people who 
are involved with serious domestic violence, they could be people who 
are dangerous, and they could be mentally ill. We are saying we have to 
have universal background checks.
  What is controversial about those two bills? But they won't pay 
attention. They will not take up the bill. As a matter of fact, the 
leadership is threatening us. They want to charge us with violations of 
the House rules, take us to the Ethics Committee, and have us 
sanctioned in some way because they say we have violated the rules.
  Well, I say to them: I won't be intimidated. I am not afraid of them 
or the Ethics Committee. If they want to take us to the Ethics 
Committee, come on, let's go, because we are going to stand up for what 
we believe in, and we are not going to be intimidated by being charged 
with violation of the rules of the House.
  Now, while I am talking about not being intimidated by anybody, I 
want to congratulate and thank Mr. Al Green of Texas for what he says 
has been a 68-year journey where he got up in our caucus today, and he 
took this floor in a way that I have not seen any Member of Congress in 
the years that I have been here take the floor and just bare their 
hearts and just say what is on their mind. I have never seen a Member 
of this House come to tears and beg us to do something about the 
killing of Black men, in particular, that is going on.
  While we are dealing with gun violence--and we are dealing with gun 
violence to protect everybody--I want to tell you, I have been here 
when we have had the mothers up here from Newtown. I went to 
Charleston, South Carolina, where the Emanuel Nine were killed, and I 
stayed up all night with people placing flowers in front of the church. 
I literally went to Mr. Aguilar and sat with him when the San 
Bernardino massacre happened. We were here when Columbine happened, and 
we all thought at that time that we have got to do something. We have 
done nothing.
  Then there is Orlando, Florida; there is Aurora; there is Arizona; 
there is

[[Page H4478]]

Virginia Tech; and on and on and on. We have been fighting to do 
something about these massacres. The police should be with us. The 
police should not complicate our job by doing what is being done.
  You have heard about the latest two killings in Baton Rouge and in 
Minnesota. They are absolutely heartbreaking. I listened last evening 
to this woman crying, screaming, and saying: ``God, please don't let 
him die.''
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.
  Ms. MAXINE WATERS of California. Well, you may stop me now because my 
time is up. But I will be back. I will not stop on these two issues: 
massacres and the killing of Black men in particular.

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