[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 204 (Thursday, December 14, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1704]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              FIVE-YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF SANDY HOOK SHOOTING

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                         HON. JAMES R. LANGEVIN

                            of rhode island

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, December 13, 2017

  Mr. LANGEVIN. Madam Speaker, I'd like like to thank the gentlelady 
from Connecticut for organizing this special order and for her 
commitment to honoring the victims of the tragic shooting at Sandy Hook 
Elementary School on December 14, 2012.
  I rise to join her in remembrance and to call on my colleagues to 
take immediate action to end gun violence across our nation.
  The horrific shooting spree in Newtown, Connecticut, five years ago 
shocked us all. Twenty innocent children and six brave educators fell 
victim to unspeakable violence--the work of a deeply disturbed young 
man armed with a semiautomatic rifle and two handguns.
  More than ever, it revealed the desperate need to reform our gun 
laws.
  But five years later, we have nothing to show for it but more mass 
shootings--more innocent lives lost. We have made no meaningful 
progress, and we have not passed any commonsense legislation, like 
banning high-capacity magazines, which the Sandy Hook shooter used.
  It is far past time to enact laws to strengthen our background check 
system, closing loopholes that allow unlicensed gun dealers to sell 
firearms to Americans without background checks at gun shows and over 
the internet, putting us all at risk.
  Instead, my Republican colleagues continue to try to weaken gun 
safety laws by passing legislation like the Concealed Carry Reciprocity 
Act, which would override state law and allow domestic abusers, 
teenagers, and people untrained in gun safety to carry concealed 
weapons freely across the nation.
  Moreover, they block federal funds from being used to even research 
gun violence, for fear it will be used to ``advocate gun control.''
  This is simply unacceptable and morally irresponsible. As members of 
Congress, it is our duty to pass laws to make our communities safer. 
The only way to respond to mass shootings like the one at Sandy Hook 
Elementary is to take action that will prevent such tragedies from 
happening in the future.
  Since 2012, more than 170,000 other lives have been ended by gun 
violence, more than 170,000 families devastated. The gun violence 
epidemic continues to plague our nation, and we must act now to stop 
it.

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