[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 35 (Tuesday, February 27, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1223-S1224]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                               Gun Safety

  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, after Columbine, Sandy Hook, Charleston, 
Orlando, Las Vegas, and too many more to name, the Nation convulsed, 
and we talked about reforming our gun safety laws to prevent more names 
and places from being added to the list. Each time, we talked, but the 
Senate, the House--this government--did nothing.
  Now, in the wake of the tragic shooting at Stoneman Douglas High 
School that took the lives of another 17 Americans, we must try again 
to pass meaningful changes to our laws to keep our children safe. That 
is our duty, and there are many things we could and should pursue.
  Yesterday, I suggested that comprehensive background checks would

[[Page S1224]]

be an excellent and necessary place to start. It doesn't make sense 
that we allow anyone, regardless of his criminal history--felons--or a 
history of mental illness, to walk into a gun show or to go online and 
buy a gun with no questions asked. There is no sense in that. When I 
wrote the Brady Law back in 1993, gun shows were not popular, and we 
didn't have internet sales to worry about at the time because there was 
no internet. These loopholes grew and grew and grew over time. Now, it 
is hard to know the exact number because we don't record the number of 
guns that are sold at gun shows or online, but about one-fifth of all 
gun sales happen without there being background checks.
  It is likely that criminals and others who are up to no good have a 
higher percentage because they do not want to be detected and go 
through background checks. It is outrageous that so many guns are sold 
with there being no background checks whatsoever--whether you are a 
felon, one who is adjudicated mentally ill, or a spousal abuser. It is 
outrageous. We should close those loopholes and close them now. We 
should have comprehensive background checks, not just a little 
something here and a little something there. Comprehensive background 
checks are supported overwhelmingly by the American people.
  Later this morning, just in about 15, 20 minutes, I will be meeting 
with several of the students--the brave, courageous students--from 
Stoneman Douglas High School. I want to hear what they have to say. 
These brave students, whether at the Florida statehouse or on national 
television, have spoken out with passion, with eloquence, with grace. I 
believe they are changing the way our country thinks about this issue. 
I hope--I pray--they compel us to do something significant because we 
cannot settle for half measures, not after what happened in Florida, 
not after so many tragedies.
  The fix NICS bill is an idea that has wide support in this Chamber, 
but it is tiny. It is a grant program that addresses one specific 
issue. Now, we have a whole host of issues to address, not just one. 
Fix NICS was aimed by the Senator from Texas at a particular tragedy in 
Texas by which a member of the Air Force had a record that would have 
disqualified him from getting a gun, but the Air Force failed to send 
the statement to NICS. It is a good thing to make sure that doesn't 
happen, but we should not be aiming our gun legislation simply at one 
past tragedy. We must look to the future and what will prevent future 
tragedies. Comprehensive background checks will; the Fix NICS bill will 
not.

  So let's not set our sights too narrow and squander this moment. 
Let's try for significant, bipartisan legislation that will make a real 
difference in keeping our children safe. Even as our caucus discusses 
what legislation is best--and in our leadership meeting, we had an 
outstanding discussion this morning--I look forward to working with our 
Republican colleagues to see if we can get something real done.