[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 45 (Wednesday, March 14, 2018)]
[House]
[Page H1551]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               DEMANDING VOICES BE HEARD ON GUN VIOLENCE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Michigan (Mr. Levin) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Speaker, students from across the Nation, including 
from my Ninth District in Michigan, are demanding that their voices be 
heard on the issue of gun violence. They are upset with the carnage 
they have witnessed. They are fearful for their safety, and they are 
tired of excuses and inaction.
  But 1 month after the tragedy in Parkland, Florida, not to mention so 
many prior school shootings, Republican leaders in Congress have failed 
to bring up any legislation that might meaningfully control the weapons 
that are being used to kill and wound so many Americans. So all of us 
Democrats are coming here today, many of us. On the Republican side--I 
am not sure the screen can show--we see empty seats. No bill on assault 
weapons, no bill on improving background checks, no bill to ban bump 
stocks, nothing--this is a terrible moment of silence when we 
desperately need a moment of action.
  While there is no single answer to gun violence, any credible 
response must address the weapons of war that are turning our schools, 
houses of worship, movie theaters, and concerts into battlefields. 
Assault weapons with magazines holding 30 bullets are not needed by 
hunters nor are they required for self-defense. They are killing 
machines, and increasing numbers of our fellow Americans have become 
their victims.
  Congress must stand up to the NRA and say, ``Enough.'' Even President 
Trump called out Republican Members of Congress for being too afraid of 
the NRA to act, saying the NRA has ``great power over you people; they 
have less power over me.''
  But ever since, President Trump has been backtracking, showing he, 
too, is more scared of the NRA's political muscle than he is of the 
public's demand for change. This outcome is depressingly familiar.
  Fifty years ago, 1 week after Bobby Kennedy was assassinated, I spoke 
on the issue of gun violence at Wayne State University. I felt 
compelled to speak about the myths that the NRA was spreading regarding 
any effort toward sensible gun control. In my 1968 speech, I said: 
``One of the favorite sayings of the NRA and the rest of the gun lobby 
is that `guns don't kill people; people kill people.' The figures show 
the inaccuracy of the statement. The truth is that `people with guns 
kill people.' ''
  This remains as true today as it was 50 years ago, and yet we still 
remain paralyzed by the NRA. And what is its solution to gun violence? 
More guns. More guns in the classroom by arming teachers, more guns on 
the streets through lax concealed carry laws, and more guns crossing 
State lines by overriding local laws. In this deranged math, more guns 
somehow equals less violence.
  Grieving parents and terrified students deserve so much better. They 
are tired of the stonewalling, the diversion, and the deception. They 
are demanding real action to stop gun violence. Let us act now.

                          ____________________