[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 84 (Tuesday, May 22, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2802-S2803]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Santa Fe High School Shooting
Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, last Friday, America watched in horror
as the news story broke of yet another school shooting, this time at
Santa Fe High School in Texas.
Eight students and two teachers were fatally shot. Thirteen victims
were wounded in another devastating tragedy. The alleged gunman was a
student who came into the school with his parents' shotgun and handgun
and used them to commit mass murder.
Of course, we grieve for the families and victims in Santa Fe, and,
of course, we are grateful for first responders who ran toward the
sound of gunfire. But let's be honest--the shooting in Santa Fe High
was, by one count, the 22nd school shooting in America this year. We
are in the 21st week of this year. We have had more than one school
shooting a week in the United States of America. America's
schoolchildren, sadly, now go to school expecting that there will be a
shooter on the premises.
After the Santa Fe High School shooting, a reporter interviewed a
student named Paige Curry at the school. The reporter asked: ``Was
there a part of you that was like, this isn't real, this could not
happen at my school?''
Paige Curry replied: ``There wasn't.''
When the reporter asked why so, she said: ``It's been happening
everywhere. I've always felt it would eventually happen here too.''
Can you imagine we have reached this point in America if that is how
many of our Nation's high schoolers think? Sadly, in Paige Curry's
case, she was right. Her school was the target last week.
On Sunday, the New York Times posted an article titled ``New Reality
for High School Students: Calculating the Risk of Getting Shot.''
The article discussed how students across America, from Iowa to
Oklahoma, from Illinois to Mississippi, from Seattle to New York, are
now forced to go through their day planning what they would do if the
shooting starts in their school.
The article quotes one student, a sophomore in a New York high
school, describing how vulnerable her desks were in each class where
she sat.
She started making mental calculations about when the gunman came to
the door whether she would be in the line of fire. She said her English
class is the safest class for her each day because it is down a
hallway, and it makes it hard for the shooter to find it, but her math
class makes her particularly vulnerable because she said she sits in
the second desk in the second row in a direct path from the door. The
student, whose name is Emily Rubenstein, said:
It's like the front lines of a war. Being seated in front
of the classroom could be what makes you live and what makes
you die.
It is not just high schoolers who think this way; my 6-year-old
granddaughter came home and told her mom recently that she had been
warned that if there is a shooter in the school--she is a first-
grader--if there is a shooter in the school, stay away from the windows
and get down on the floor as quickly as possible.
Is there any sane person in America who thinks our kids should be
going
[[Page S2803]]
through this? Is there any sane person in America who believes this is
expected by the Second Amendment to our Bill of Rights?
Let's be clear. Addressing our Nation's epidemic of gun violence and
school shootings should be a top priority. About 300 Americans are shot
every day, a third of them fatally. Gun violence is a public health
crisis. It is traumatizing an entire generation of America's kids.
In recent weeks, students across the country have marched in the
streets, walked out of their classrooms to call on us--elected
leaders--to step up and do something to reduce gun violence. The
students are having an impact. At least 15 States have passed
legislation to close gaps in their State gun laws since February 14,
which was the date of the Parkland shooting in Florida. Four States--
Maryland, Florida, Vermont, and Washington--have passed bills to ban
bump stocks. Congress has not. Seven States have passed bills to make
it harder for domestic violence abusers to get guns--Kansas, New York,
Ohio, Oregon, Utah, Vermont, and Washington. Congress has not. Three
States have passed red flag laws to temporarily remove guns from people
who pose extreme risks--Florida, Maryland, and Vermont.
These State-level reforms are significant, and they are even
happening in States such as Florida and Kansas, which have a reputation
of being friendly to the gun lobby. I hope my State of Illinois will
soon join the ranks of the States that have passed meaningful State-
level gun measures this year. We came close in Illinois when the
General Assembly passed a landmark, bipartisan bill to provide more
accountability for gun dealers' sales. Governor Bruce Rauner
unfortunately vetoed that bill, but the General Assembly is working
hard to put a revised bill back on his desk.
In addition to these State law reforms, the student movement has
brought major changes in corporate behavior. Major gun retailers, such
as Dick's Sporting Goods and Walmart, have voluntarily changed their
sales practices. Companies such as Delta, United, Hertz, and Avis ended
affinity relationships with the National Rifle Association.
Institutional investors and financial companies are now pressuring the
gun industry to change its behavior. These businesses understand that
inaction is not an option. The student movement for gun safety has
helped them realize this.
Unfortunately, it is extremely unlikely that this Congress will take
any meaningful action this year to reduce gun violence in America. Why?
Because President Trump and the Republican majority in Congress still
won't push for any gun reforms that the gun lobby opposes. They are
letting the gun lobby dictate Federal policy. That is a mistake. It is
disgraceful. The gun lobby cares about one thing above all else:
selling guns. They are not going to support any reforms that might
reduce their sales.
On Sunday, the incoming president of the National Rifle Association,
Oliver North--you may remember him from the Iran-Contra controversy--
blamed everything from video games to Ritalin for our epidemic of
school shootings. He blamed everything except guns.
In fact, rather than support efforts to strengthen our gun laws, the
gun lobby is gearing up for their last big push this year to urge
Congress to weaken our gun laws even further. On April 16, the
Washington Examiner reported that longtime NRA board member Grover
Norquist ``said he has received assurance from the Republican
leadership'' that Congress will put the NRA's concealed carry
reciprocity bill on the agenda this year before the August recess.
Make no mistake--as appropriations bills and the Defense
authorization bill move through Congress, the gun lobby and their
allies are looking to weaken the gun laws on the books even more than
they already have. America, keep your eye on Congress.
To all the students and young people across America who are asking
for leadership when it comes to reducing gun violence, many of us hear
you loud and clear, and we are not giving up. Congress may not get the
job done this year when it comes to closing the enormous gaps in our
gun laws, but this movement of young people is making incredible things
happen in statehouses across America. They are rapidly becoming a major
force for change in corporate behavior, and they are soon-to-be voters.
This movement is getting results, and Congress is going to have to
choose whom it will listen to--the students who are spending their
class time thinking about whether their desks are in the line of fire
or the gun lobbyists who want to further weaken gun laws on the books
so they can make more gun sales.
I know where I stand. I am going to keep doing everything I can to
put the safety of my granddaughter, my grandson, and kids in our
neighborhoods across America ahead of the gun lobby's agenda of selling
more guns. We may not be able to stop every shooting in our schools and
in our streets, but if Congress takes meaningful action to close the
gaps in our gun laws, we will save lives.