[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 41 (Thursday, March 8, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E287-E288]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





                        GUN VIOLENCE IN AMERICA

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, March 7, 2018

  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to call upon the President 
and the Congress of the United States to act without delay and pass 
legislation to prevent gun violence and mass casualties from shootings.
  The community of Parkland, Florida--along with the rest of the 
country--is still reeling from the horrific tragedy that took place at 
the Marjorie Stoneman Douglass High School on Valentine's Day, February 
14, 2018.
  Our hearts still ache with sadness and disbelief for the families and 
loved ones of the 17 students--sons and daughters, brothers and 
sisters--who lost their lives in this senseless, horrific act of 
domestic terrorism.
  It is safe to say that America is sick and tired of being sick and 
tired of gun violence.
  That is why we must act now to stop gun violence, protect citizens, 
and save lives.
  Here are the top 6 actions the President and the Congress can and 
must take now to protect our communities:
  Require universal background checks to keep guns out of dangerous 
hands;
  Extend the waiting period to purchase or transfer dangerous--weapons 
like the AR-15 pending completion of a background checks to 7 days;
  Raise the minimum age to purchase or transfer dangerous weapons like 
the AR-15, high-capacity magazines, ammunitions, and silencers from 18 
to 21 years of age;
  Ban military-style assault weapons;
  Limit high-capacity magazines; and
  Increase access to mental health services.
  We can take action without infringing on the 2nd Amendment rights of 
Americans.
  We need to make it harder for criminals to obtain guns by 
strengthening the background check system.
  We need to ensure that mental health professionals know their options 
for reporting threats of violence--even as we acknowledge that someone 
with a mental illness is far more likely to be the victim of a violent 
crime than the perpetrator.
  We must also make safe gun storage a priority.
  As the founder and Co-Chair of the Congressional Children's Caucus, a 
senior Member of the Judiciary Committee, and the Ranking Member of the 
Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security, I 
have listened far too often to the testimony of individuals who have 
survived tragedies or lost loved ones as a result of gun violence.
  In the words of President Obama after the 2013 Sandy Hook Elementary 
shooting, ``We're going to have to come together and take meaningful 
action to prevent more tragedies like this, regardless of the 
politics.''
  While it is certainly true that violent crime and homicide rates in 
this country have been declining in recent years, they are still far 
above those in other industrialized nations.
  There exists a culture of violence in America; a subculture that with 
today's technologically advanced weaponry is far more dangerous to 
public safety than ever before.
  At no point in our nation's history has a single human been more 
capable of inflicting massive death and our society is producing more 
individuals who seek to employ such means to carry out their ill 
intentions.
  Far too often, the tool of choice for would-be killers are military-
style assault weapons with high-capacity magazines.
  Every day, on average, 92 Americans are victims of gun violence, 
resulting in more than 33,000 deaths annually.
  In raising this issue, we recognize and respect other cultures that 
exist in America; law-abiding citizens who are responsible in their 
ownership of firearms.
  Many of these citizens are responsible with respect to the lethal 
capacity of their firearms, opting not to obtain assault weapons or to 
equip assault weapons with 30, 50, 75, or 100-round magazines.
  Here is what I think the Congress can and must do to reduce gun 
violence without abridging the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding 
Americans.
  Extend the waiting period to purchase or transfer dangerous weapons 
like the AR-15 pending completion of a background checks to 7 days.
  That is why I have introduced H.R. 4268, the ``Gun Safety, Not Sorry 
Act.''
  Raise the minimum age to purchase or transfer dangerous weapons like 
the AR-15, high-capacity magazines, ammunitions, and silencers from 18 
to 21 years of age.
  That is why I have introduced H.R. 5088, the ``No Mass Atrocities 
With Guns Act'' (`No MAGA Act').
  Reinstate and strengthen the federal ban on assault weapons.
  I am an original co-sponsor of H.R. 3947, legislation that will 
reinstates the assault weapons ban that has been introduced by my 
colleague, Congressman David Cicilline of Rhode Island.
  Reinstate a federal ban on bump stocks and high-capacity magazines 
holding more than ten rounds and allowing a shooter to inflict mass 
damage in a short period of time without reloading will save lives.
  I will soon be introducing the ``Stop Abuse, Violence, and Ending 
Lives Act of 2018,'' legislation to ban the sale and possession of bump 
stocks.
  Require a background check for every gun sale, while respecting 
reasonable exceptions for cases such as gifts between family members 
and temporary loans for sporting purposes.
  I am an original co-sponsor of H.R. 4240, the ``Public Safety and 
Second Amendment Rights Protection Act of 2017,'' legislation that 
requires universal background checks and closes the gun show loophole 
that has been introduced by my colleague, Congressman Mike Thompson of 
California.
  It is estimated that four out of ten gun buyers do not go through a 
background check when purchasing a firearm because federal law only 
requires these checks when someone buys a gun from a federally licensed 
dealer.
  That would be like allowing four out of ten people to choose if they 
would like to go through airport security.
  This loophole allows felons, domestic abusers, and those prohibited 
because of mental illness to easily bypass the criminal background 
check system and buy firearms at gun shows, through private sellers, 
over the internet or out of the trunks of cars.
  Strengthen the National Instant Criminal Background Check System 
(NICS) database to ensure it is up to date by requiring federal and 
state agencies to transfer important records to the database 
expeditiously since without the information, the reliability of a 
background check is questionable.
  Pass legislation aimed specifically at cracking down on illegal gun 
trafficking and straw-purchasing which often puts guns in the hands of 
people who are prohibited from having them.
  Straw-purchasing is when a prohibited buyer has someone with no 
criminal history walk into a gun store, pass a background check and 
purchase a gun with the purpose of giving it to the prohibited buyer.
  Restore funding for public safety and law enforcement initiatives 
aimed at reducing gun violence.
  Congress should fund law enforcement's efforts to reduce gun 
violence, while supporting federal research into causes of gun 
violence.
  There is no reason the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) or the 
National Institute of Health (NIH) should be prohibited from 
researching the causes of gun violence.
  That is why I have co-sponsored H.R. 1832, legislation that 
authorizes the appropriation of funds to the Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention for conducting or supporting research on 
firearms safety or gun violence prevention.
  I have also co-sponsored H.R. 1478, the Gun Violence Research Act, 
which repeals the provision that in practice prohibits the Department 
of Health and Human Services from sponsoring research on gun violence.
  And there is no reason for the restrictions federal law places on our 
law enforcement officers' ability to track and combat the spread of 
illegal guns.
  Close the holes in our mental-health system and make sure that care 
is available for those who need it.
  Congress must improve prevention, early intervention, and treatment 
of mental illness while working to eliminate the stigma associated with 
mental illness.
  Access to mental health services should be improved, the shortage of 
mental health professionals should be addressed, and funding should be 
made available for those programs that have proven to be effective.
  That is why I have co-sponsored H.R. 1982, the ``Mental Health Access 
and Gun Violence Prevention Act,'' legislation that authorizes the 
Department of Justice, the Department of Health and Human Services, and 
the Social Security Administration to: (1) increase access to mental 
health care treatment and services, and (2) promote reporting of mental 
health information to the National Instant Criminal Background Check 
System.
  Help local communities get unwanted and illegal guns out of the hands 
of those who should not have them.
  Congress should help support and develop local programs that get 
unwanted guns off our streets, such as gun buy-back programs that 
proved so effective in Australia.
  Finally, we must address our culture's glorification of violence seen 
and heard though our movie screens, television shows, music and video 
games.
  Congress should fund scientific research on the relationship between 
popular culture and gun violence, while ensuring that parents have 
access to the information they need to make informed decisions about 
what their families watch, listen to, and play.

[[Page E288]]

  Here is what I think neither the President, the Congress, nor state 
and local governments should not do to reduce gun violence.
  We Should Not Arm Teachers because they are not trained to handle 
weapons; this is not what they signed up for.
  We Must Not Surrender to NRA even though the gun lobby has long 
enjoyed tremendous influence over congressional Republicans and some 
Democrats.
  Persons who live in fear of gun violence and mass shootings at 
schools, theaters, places of worship and work, and public spaces are 
not afraid of the NRA.
  What they are afraid of is an AR-15 in the hands of a mentally 
unstable person. Americans are a can-do people; we do not bemoan our 
problems and accept terrible outcomes.
  We act to solve them.
  We have made our cars and trucks and roads safer and reduced traffic 
fatalities.
  We have virtually eradicated polio, small pox, and other debilitating 
and life-threatening diseases.
  We respond immediately to natural disasters caused by hurricanes, 
earthquakes, tornados, floods, and man-made disasters caused by acts of 
terrorism.
  When it comes to reducing or preventing gun violence, we must summon 
that same spirit of American resolve and know-how and get the job done.
  We can do it; after all, we are Americans.

                          ____________________