[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 45 (Wednesday, March 14, 2018)]
[House]
[Page H1548]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              GUN VIOLENCE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
New Jersey (Mrs. Watson Coleman) for 5 minutes.
  Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN. Mr. Speaker, there are so many important issues 
and such little time, but today I want to stand in solidarity with my 
colleagues, with parents, with students, and with Americans across the 
country who are calling for action to address the crisis of gun 
control.
  Over the weekend, I had the opportunity to connect with nearly 150 
students and their parents in my district at a townhall meeting. I 
listened to their personal worries and worst fears. I heard their 
thoughts and the solutions they want decisionmakers here in Washington 
to consider. I felt the emotional strain of wondering if their own 
classrooms were safe.
  Above all else, I heard the question: Why? Why can't we limit access 
to military-style weapons specifically built to maximize damage? Why 
can't we improve the background check process? Why won't Congress act? 
Why? Why?
  The President recently set forth a series of empty proposals that 
continue our practice of shrinking away from these questions. Arming 
teachers, school personnel, and volunteers is dangerous, ill-conceived, 
and does nothing to solve the problems we have with gun violence. To 
keep our children safe, we need fewer guns, not more.
  And in backing away from his initial pledge to limit access, the 
President again prioritized the interests of the National Rifle 
Association over the pleas of countless students, teachers, and 
parents. In fact, he is the one who has demonstrated that he is afraid 
of the NRA.
  The wish for safe spaces to learn was clear in the comments I heard 
from my constituents on Saturday: young people who want to walk through 
the hallways of their schools feeling nurtured instead of afraid. 
Stashing pistols in their teachers' desks will not bring them that 
feeling.
  If the administration or the leaders controlling what we debate here 
on the floor of Congress were actually interested in protecting our 
schools, we would be debating legislation to strengthen background 
checks, we would be working on increasing the firearms purchasing act 
to the age of 21, we would be banning assault rifles, we would be 
limiting and tracking excessive ammunition purchases, and much, much 
more.
  There are bills in our hopper to do all of these things. They are 
ready, and they are waiting for debate, including my own bill. All we 
need is for the Speaker of this House to show the will, determination, 
and courage to put young lives ahead of the gun lobby.
  While much of my townhall meeting was centered on anxiety and fear, I 
left the event filled with an overwhelming sense of pride and hope, 
pride in a generation of future leaders who have endured an endless and 
unbearable stream of school shootings and are stepping up to the plate 
to hold their leaders accountable. Some of these students were born at 
a time when that is all they have seen in their lifetime are these mass 
killings at schools.
  I hope that we can finally agree on a path of action and their voices 
will be heard. I will continue to lift these voices here with my 
colleagues and fight with them for action and change because that is 
what a better deal is for all Americans.

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