[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 46 (Thursday, March 15, 2018)]
[House]
[Page H1617]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1215
                              GUN VIOLENCE

  (Mr. SCHNEIDER asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. SCHNEIDER. Madam Speaker, yesterday marked 1 month since the 
gunman at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School cut short the lives of 
17 students and teachers. These tragedies have become so common that 
the response of this Congress is practically routine: thoughts and 
prayers are offered, moments of silence held, and then we move on with 
no specific action on gun violence.
  Madam Speaker, this is not enough. We need to heed the call of 
thousands of students across the country who organized walkouts and 
events with a simple message for us: It is time to act.
  We need to be able to look these students in the eye and say: ``We 
are doing everything we can to protect you.'' But for too long, this 
institution has refused to do just that. We are not considering 
legislation to pass universal background checks. We have not debated 
restricting the sale of military assault weapons, bump stocks, and 
high-capacity magazines, or even lifting the ban on preventing our 
government from researching gun safety solutions.
  Yesterday we did pass a bill with important resources for school 
safety, including a bipartisan provision I introduced with 
Representative  Mike Bost to help schools install panic buttons. That 
is an important first step, but really protecting our children is not 
possible without concrete measures to reduce gun violence.
  I urge my colleagues to listen to the wisdom of the young people in 
our districts, and let's all find the courage to pass sensible gun 
safety laws and, finally, to save lives.

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