[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 41 (Thursday, March 8, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1574-S1575]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              GUN VIOLENCE

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, last week, I met in my office with four 
students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, as well as one 
recent graduate. They are among the many students and graduates from 
Parkland, FL, who have been speaking out across the country, asking for 
commonsense gun safety reforms. They are having a real impact. They are 
changing the debate over guns in America.
  Last week several of the Nation's largest gun retailers, including 
Dick's Sporting Goods and Walmart announced that they had listened to 
the Parkland students, and heard them. Dick's Sporting Goods announced 
it will no longer sell assault rifles or high capacity magazines at any 
of its stores. Their CEO also announced that the company would stop 
selling firearms to anyone under age 21. Walmart which had already 
stopped selling assault rifles, made the same decision to stop selling 
guns to people under 21, as did Kroger and L.L. Bean.
  Making 21 the minimum age for buying any firearm is an idea that 
makes sense. It is already the law that a person must be 21 to buy a 
handgun. Why should the law be different for an assault rifle? In fact, 
President Trump initially came out in support of the idea of making 21 
the age limit for all gun purchases, but then the NRA's lobbyists went 
to work on the President with a private lunch and an Oval Office visit.
  We will see who the President and Republicans ultimately end up 
listening to on commonsense proposals like these: the Parkland students 
or the gun sales lobby.
  It is incredible to see students and businesses across the country 
taking a leadership role, in addressing gun violence. They have decided 
it is time to act, and they are acting. We have seen the Stoneman 
Douglas students convince companies to make meaningful changes when it 
comes to gun sales practices, and they have convinced many more 
companies to end their relationships with the NRA. That is a major 
development.
  Unfortunately, the gun sales lobby has not been a constructive voice 
in this debate over the epidemic of gun violence. Their rhetoric has 
been increasingly paranoid and hysterical. It is clear that their 
priority is to preserve their ability to make gun sales. That is the 
gun lobby's agenda, but it doesn't need to be our agenda.
  I want to commend the students and businesses that are showing such 
leadership in working to make our communities safer. Now the question 
is, Will the Republicans who control Congress show any leadership as 
well?

[[Page S1575]]

  If we let the gun sales lobby control this debate, we will never take 
the steps we need to keep our schools and neighborhoods safe from gun 
violence. Remember, the NRA doesn't like any proposal that might hurt 
gun sales. They don't want to close loopholes in our laws, instead, 
they would rather roll back gun laws already on the books. That is not 
the agenda America needs.
  I stand with the 97 percent of Americans who support universal 
background checks for gun sales. I want to close the loopholes in our 
laws that make it easy for dangerous people to get their hands on guns.
  I also stand with the significant majorities of Americans who want to 
take military-style assault Weapons, high-capacity magazines, and bump 
stocks off of our streets. These are weapons of war, and they have no 
place in our neighborhoods.
  We cannot become numb to the shootings that happen in our 
communities, our churches, our movie theaters, our concerts, and our 
schools. All of us, especially lawmakers, have to step up and take 
actions that will reduce the epidemic of gun violence and save lives.
  I hope my Republican colleagues will finally step up and help get 
this done.

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