[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 5 (Thursday, January 10, 2019)]
[House]
[Page H373]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                IMPLEMENTING UNIVERSAL BACKGROUND CHECKS

  (Mr. LEVIN of Michigan asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. LEVIN of Michigan. Madam Speaker, I rise as a proud cosponsor of 
H.R. 8, the Bipartisan Background Checks Act, a bill to implement 
universal background checks as a critical first step towards ending the 
public health crisis of gun violence.
  Today, I speak up in honor of the Moms and Students Demand Action 
leaders from Michigan's Ninth District who have inspired me. I speak up 
because it is unacceptable that far more people per capita are shot and 
killed annually in our country than in other wealthy nations. And it is 
unacceptable that in 2016, more than 1,200 Michiganders died from 
firearms-related injuries.
  I speak up because the American people are counting on us to save 
lives, and this bill is a commonsense way to do that. I feel privileged 
to cosponsor this bill as one of my first actions in Congress. We owe 
it to families everywhere to get this done.

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