[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 139 (Wednesday, September 14, 2016)]
[House]
[Page H5447]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1115
                              GUN VIOLENCE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Massachusetts (Mr. Capuano) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. CAPUANO. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Connecticut 
(Ms. DeLauro).
  Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, we are here again today because the 
American people are demanding action; they are begging us to stop the 
killing. And I urge my Republican colleagues: Listen to your 
constituents. Do your job. Pursue commonsense gun violence legislation.
  We need to vote on legislation that makes a real impact on the 
epidemic of gun violence in this country, and we need to vote now. The 
American people want us to do our job. They want bipartisan 
legislation, and we have a moral obligation to take action.
  For each of us, it is personal. In every community, the effects of 
gun violence have left scars that will never heal. In my home State of 
Connecticut, we know how devastating this can be. After the tragedy at 
Sandy Hook Elementary, we lost 6 incredible caring adults, 20 beautiful 
children. We said, ``Never again.''
  Since Sandy Hook, 39,000 or more people have been killed by a gun. 
There have been over 1,200 mass shootings in movie theaters, churches, 
nightclubs, and safe havens. We have held 31 moments of silence on the 
floor of the House in honor of these brothers, sisters, children, and 
babies; yet we have held zero votes on bipartisan gun violence 
prevention legislation.
  Let's move to a real no fly, no buy bill, one that actually prevents 
potential terrorists from getting dangerous weapons. We need to address 
the issue of universal background checks. The gun lobby would have you 
believe that background checks are a wedge issue. It is a lie. Ninety 
two percent of gun owners support background checks and 72 percent of 
NRA members support background checks.
  The victims' families do not get a break from their grief, so we will 
not take a break until we get a bill, a real bill with concrete, 
enforceable measures that will stop the killing. The American people 
deserve real, concrete gun legislation.
  How many more people must suffer and die before we open our eyes?

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