[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 159 (Wednesday, October 4, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6294-S6295]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                        Las Vegas Mass Shooting

  Mr. President, returning to the events in Las Vegas on Sunday, we 
cannot let this American tragedy, another in a long line of American 
tragedies, fall out of our hearts and minds too quickly.
  Let us pledge to be there for the families of the 59 Americans who 
were killed and the over 500 Americans who are still injured and 
recovering. Seeing the pictures of so many of these beautiful, young 
people in the prime of life--young, excited about the world, some of 
them newly married, some of them a little older with young children--
breaks your heart. So not just today or this week, but in the weeks and 
months to come, let us pledge to continue to show our gratitude to 
those firefighters and cops, the emergency and medical personnel, and 
all the other first responders who rushed to the scene. Let us pledge 
to remember the acts of everyday heroism that are a beacon of light in 
this moment of darkness: the lines to give blood that stretched around 
the block at 6 a.m., the teachers who went to school the day after the 
shooting to try and give their students a sense of normalcy. I hope 
these are the things President Trump highlights in his visit to Las 
Vegas today.
  And one more thing: President Trump has an opportunity to wrench his 
party out of the grasp of the NRA and get our country and our Congress 
to start talking about commonsense gun safety reforms. Before President 
Trump ran for office, he repeatedly supported several sane, rational 
gun safety measures, including the assault weapons ban and longer 
waiting periods to purchase a gun. As recently as 2012, President Trump 
supported President Obama's response to Sandy Hook. In the wake of 
Sandy Hook, President Obama called for action. In the wake of

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Las Vegas, President Trump should do the same.
  We have heard it over and over again: Now is not the time to talk 
about gun safety because it would politicize the tragedy. My friend the 
majority leader said no less than three times at his press conference 
yesterday that it is premature and inappropriate to talk about any 
legislative solutions to the epidemic of gun violence.
  As Martin Luther King said in his letter at the Birmingham Jail, 
``not now'' means never. ``Wait'' means never. That is what he said: 
Wait means never.
  The Republicans don't want to talk about it today, tomorrow, next 
week, next month, or next year. We know why they don't want to talk 
about it. They know the country is totally against their view. It is 
not political out in the country. Over 90 percent of Americans support 
universal background checks. A significant majority of Republicans 
support them. That is not political, I would say to my friend the 
majority leader.
  It is political for him because he is afraid of the NRA, a powerful 
lobby that is off to the extreme. It is not political for American 
people or for Republicans. They are for it. Over 70 percent of gun 
owners support background checks for private sales and at gun shows. 
The only place where this is political is here, and that is because the 
NRA, the gun manufacturers, and their powerful lobby make these folks 
afraid--afraid to do the right thing. They know it is the right thing.
  The NRA and these lobbies are the swamp the President is talking 
about. President Trump talks about the swamp, groups of lobbyists who 
thwart the will of the American people. That is what the NRA does.
  So I say to the President, Mr. President, you have an opportunity to 
buck the NRA, buck the gun lobbyists, buck the swamp, and lead this 
country in an adult conversation about gun violence. The President can 
and should bring the parties together--the leaders of this Congress--
and let both sides know he is ready to address this issue head-on and 
talk about sensible, moderate measures of gun safety and, above all, 
background checks.
  The President's visit is an important one today. He should be going. 
He should seek to provide comfort to the families and express gratitude 
to our first responders. But he should take it one step further. Call 
us together, lead this Nation in a debate about rational, moderate gun 
safety laws. Get us started on the work that so many Americans are 
desperate for us to do.