[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 113 (Wednesday, July 13, 2016)]
[House]
[Page H4828]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
RESPONDING TO THE EPIDEMIC OF GUN VIOLENCE IN AMERICA
(Mr. CICILLINE asked and was given permission to address the House
for 1 minute.)
Mr. CICILLINE. Madam Speaker, last evening, we, the members of the
Democratic Caucus, came together in an evening of remembrance to mark
the 1-month anniversary and honor the lives of the 49 individuals who
were massacred in Orlando at the Pulse Nightclub.
We are about now to leave Congress, adjourn for 7 weeks, failing in
our sacred responsibility to keep the American people safe. During that
time, during our recess, about 5,000 Americans will die at the hands of
guns.
Too many communities have been stained by the blood of gun violence,
and Congress has done nothing. We have begged and pleaded and implored
and argued to bring to the floor responsible gun safety legislation, to
do something to honor the lives that have been lost. Yet, my colleagues
on the other side of the aisle have refused--have refused to show the
courage to stand up and do what is right for the American people. I
pray that they find the courage to do that, and that we finally do
something to reduce gun violence in this country and to honor the lives
that have been lost, and to finally leave this Chamber knowing that we
have responded and done something to respond to the epidemic of gun
violence in America.
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