[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 35 (Tuesday, February 27, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Page S1232]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                              Gun Violence

  Mr. President, I also want to speak for a few moments about the 
epidemic of gun violence in our country. Almost 2 weeks ago, a 19-year-
old armed with an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle entered Marjory Stoneman 
Douglas High School in Parkland, FL, and killed 14 students and 3 
teachers, and 14 others were injured. Time and again, we have seen this 
tragedy play out and time and again we are seeing Congress fail to act.
  Each year we lose 33,000 American lives due to gun violence. In 
instances of disease, illness, natural disaster, this level of 
widespread death would be met with immediate and meaningful action by 
Congress. Yet we continually abdicate our moral responsibility when it 
comes to gun violence prevention. We don't have to accept this epidemic 
of gun violence in our country. It is not preordained. It is 
preventable.
  So what should Congress do?
  First, we should allow public health researchers to study the causes 
of gun violence so they can find solutions to this public health 
crisis. Right now, zero dollars are spent at the Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention on gun violence prevention research. That is 
because since 1996, an appropriations rider has prohibited the Centers 
for Disease Control from advocating or promoting gun control.
  Just last week, Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar said 
he would not let the rider impede the CDC's research into the causes of 
gun violence. So there is no reason now not to fully fund this critical 
research agenda.
  I have introduced legislation to fund research into the causes and 
prevention of gun violence. My bill now has 32 cosponsors in the 
Senate. I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to cosponsor 
this commonsense bill. It is long past time that we treat gun violence 
like the public health emergency it is, but we must also keep guns out 
of the hands of those who should not have them.
  Currently, anyone can use a handgun in America--whether it is the 
gun's owner, a thief, or, tragically, a young child, but it doesn't 
have to be this way. Technology exists now that can authorize handgun 
use only by its owner. In the 21st century, we have to use advances in 
technology to our advantage, and we can save lives by using it.
  That is why I used the opportunity to introduce smart gun legislation 
that will require all handguns manufactured in the United States to be 
personalized for operation only by the authorized user. That means, 
unless you are authorized by fingerprint or other technology, you will 
not be able to fire that handgun. If we can do it for an iPhone, we 
should be able to do it for a handgun so that if a child gets ahold of 
a gun, if it is not their thumb, they cannot fire it. If someone steals 
a gun from a home, it will not work because it will not be their thumb 
that is on the barrel of that gun. That is ultimately a way to reduce 
dramatically the amount of harm we see in our country.
  We must also ban these military-style assault weapons like the AR-15, 
which are the guns of choice for those who seek to inflict mass 
casualties on civilians. These are weapons that belong in combat, not 
in our communities.
  We must also pass legislation to ensure that all gun purchases 
include a background check. In fact, 97 percent of all Americans now 
support expanded background checks--97 percent of all Americans. No one 
should be able to purchase a gun through Facebook or Instagram without 
a background check. Instagram should not mean ``Instagun,'' with no 
background check. That is crazy. That is crazy. You can go on Instagram 
and buy a gun without a background check. That is crazy in America in 
2018.
  We have the capacity to quickly do background checks to be able to 
find out whether somebody should be able to purchase a gun. It is crazy 
not to have that kind of a system put in place.
  If you can buy a gun on Instagram, we should be able to check online 
whether or not that person, in fact, should be allowed legally to 
purchase the gun.
  Let's close the gun show loophole, as well as the one that allows 
someone on the terrorist watch list to purchase a weapon. Let's close 
the loophole that allows domestic abusers to buy guns. Let's close the 
loophole that allows straw purchasers to buy guns and flood our streets 
with them. Let's ban bump stocks. Let's repeal the Protection of Lawful 
Commerce in Arms Act, or PLCAA, and take away the gun manufacturers' 
immunity from civil liability. These are sensible steps.
  What is not sensible is hoping that thoughts and prayers will prevent 
the next shooting. This generation of young people recognize this 
truth, and that is why they are leading this children's crusade. They 
are picking up microphones and raising their voices. They are saying 
enough is enough. It is my hope that this might just be the movement 
that pushes Republican leaders, once and for all, to take action on gun 
violence and make the NRA stand for ``not relevant anymore'' in 
American politics. This is the time for that to take place on the 
Senate floor.
  This generation of young people is rising up, and they are demanding 
that we protect this country from the scourge of gun violence. Like 
generations past, this one is making the change they want to see in our 
society.
  So, to them, let me say: I hear you. I am with you, and I will fight 
with you to ensure that not one more student has to endure what you 
did, not one more person has to be damaged because we did not put the 
laws on the books that should have been there to prevent this harm from 
occurring. I will fight with you to ensure that this does not happen in 
one more school in our country.
  That is our challenge. That is the goal we should set. That is what 
should be the agenda here on the floor of the Senate in 2018.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Arizona.