[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 48 (Tuesday, March 20, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E347-E348]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 STUDENT, TEACHERS, AND OFFICERS PREVENTING SCHOOL VIOLENCE ACT OF 2018

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                           HON. NIKI TSONGAS

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 14, 2018

  Ms. TSONGAS. Mr. Speaker, on March 14, 2018 I missed Roll Call Vote 
No. 106. Had I been present, I would have voted Yes.
  No other developed nation on the planet experiences gun violence with 
the frequency that we do in the United States. The gun homicide rate in 
our country is more than seven times that of Sweden, six times that of 
Canada, and twenty-one times that of Australia. On average, 93 
Americans die every day from gun violence and 222 people are shot and 
survive,

[[Page E348]]

including 40 children and teens. And since 1970, more Americans have 
been killed by guns than Americans killed in all of our nation's wars 
combined.
  The numbers are simply staggering.
  H.R. 4909 will help schools develop violence prevention strategies, 
strengthen school security, and help educators and law enforcement 
prevent students from hurting themselves or others. But Congress should 
be doing much more to prevent gun violence. The majority of the 
American people--and the majority of gun owners--want Congress to take 
action.
  The American people deserve open floor debates or straight up or down 
votes on commonsense measures such as banning ``bump stocks'' which 
make guns more lethal, forming a select committee on gun violence, 
requiring background checks for all gun sales, and allowing the Centers 
for Disease Control and other federal health agencies to conduct 
crucial gun violence research.
  Americans deserve a society that is free from the regular threat of 
gun violence. The status quo is unacceptable. We have a responsibility 
to pursue change.

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