[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 82 (Thursday, May 16, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2904-S2905]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                Sutherland Springs First Baptist Church

  Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, this Sunday, I have the honor of joining 
some of the most courageous, faithful, and inspiring Texans whom I ever 
met for the grand opening and dedication of their new church.
  These men and women are part of the congregation at the First Baptist 
Church of Sutherland Springs. For the vast majority of its 100-year 
history, this small church was adored by members of the community as a 
place of worship, but it didn't get much attention on the national 
stage. On November 5, 2017, all of that changed when a deranged shooter 
opened fire on their Sunday service, killing 26 parishioners--adults, 
teenagers, children, and an unborn baby. The church became the site of 
the deadliest mass shooting in Texas history.
  This violent attack rocked the entire small, tight-knit town to its 
core. Every home, every family, and every person felt the impact of the 
shooter's actions, but what emerged wasn't more of the hatred and anger 
displayed by the shooter. Instead, Sutherland Springs became a beacon 
of love and hope. The day of the attack I spoke with Wilson County 
Sheriff Joe Tackitt and offered my condolences and complete support. 
Sheriff Tackitt told me about the day's events and said the bloody 
scene inside the First Baptist Church was horrific, but the response to 
the tragedy was instantaneous. First responders from the surrounding 
area, as well as State and Federal law enforcement officials, inundated 
Sutherland Springs with resources and help.
  In the days and weeks following the attack, the support continued. 
Folks from across the country made their way to this small town outside 
of San Antonio to pay their respects, leaving flowers outside the 
church, singing songs of worship, and extending a caring hand to those 
grieving.
  I joined the congregation 1 week after the shooting for their Sunday 
service, and it was an emotional experience, to be sure. I was there to 
offer what I could in terms of support and hope to this grieving 
community, but what happened was just the opposite. They were the ones 
giving me inspiration.
  That day, as the associate pastor pointed out, the church smashed 
attendance records. It was remarkable to see not only the church 
community but also complete strangers embracing one another, offering a 
shoulder to cry on or a hand to hold.
  There was perhaps no more moving occurrence than Pastor Frank 
Pomeroy. He and his wife lost their teenage daughter in the shooting.
  One week after that occurred, he opened that service saying: ``We 
have the freedom to choose, and rather than choose darkness like the 
young man did that day, we choose the light.''
  Coming from a man who lost 26 beloved members of his congregation, 
including his own daughter, those words are tough to get your brain 
around. When he was going through what I have no doubt was the toughest 
moment of his life, Pastor Pomeroy was comforting those of us in the 
audience and reminding us not to let evil triumph.
  As more details about the shooter emerged, that message of hope was 
even more important to recall. We learned that the shooter had a long 
history of violence, and a number of red flags had been raised--school 
suspensions, comments about wanting to kill his superiors, animal 
abuse, and violence toward those closest to him. He had choked his 
wife, fractured his stepson's skull, and done time in military prison.
  Under existing Federal laws, the shooter was prohibited from ever 
purchasing or possessing a firearm. It was illegal. So how did he get 
his hands on this weapon that he used to take 26 innocent lives?
  Well, in short, it was because of a broken system. He was able to 
purchase four firearms because information about his criminal history 
was never uploaded into the National Instant Criminal Background Check 
System, also known as NICS.
  In the wake of the tragedy, you always wonder, how did this happen 
and, more importantly, what can we possibly do to prevent something 
like this from happening again? Well, in this case, one answer was 
pretty clear. We have to fix the National Criminal Instant Background 
Check System so gun purchasers can't lie and buy firearms that they are 
already legally disqualified from purchasing or possessing.
  Eleven days after the shooting, it became clear to me how this system 
had broken down. The Air Force had simply failed to upload this 
information into the background checks system so it wasn't there when 
this shooter bought those guns. In response, I introduced the Fix NICS 
Act to reform the system and ensure that all Federal agencies 
accurately and correctly upload these required conviction records. This 
legislation also encourages States and local jurisdictions, to the 
extent possible under the Constitution, to do exactly the same. We 
can't make them do it, but we can encourage them to do it and 
facilitate their doing so.
  It has been estimated that some 7 million records, including at least 
25 percent of felony convictions and a large number of convictions for 
misdemeanor domestic violence, are absent from NICS--7 million records, 
including 25 percent of felony convictions, and a large number of 
convictions for domestic violence were absent from the National Instant 
Criminal Background Check System.
  How in the world can we expect that system to work to protect us and 
our communities if, in fact, the required information is not being 
uploaded? Each missing record represents a unique opportunity for 
someone like the shooter at Sutherland Springs to slip through the 
cracks. So we knew what we had to do to change that.
  I worked with my colleagues in the Senate, on a bipartisan basis, and 
encouraged them to support the Fix NICS Act. I was heartened and 
encouraged by the bipartisan support we got. This legislation passed 
with 77 Members of the Senate serving as cosponsors. When the President 
signed this bill into law, it marked a major achievement and step 
forward and delivered on the promise I made to myself following Pastor 
Pomeroy's advice: focus on the light and not on the darkness.
  I am grateful for the support of my colleagues who cosponsored and 
voted for this legislation, which has made our background check system 
stronger. It actually made it so it will work the way Congress 
originally intended when it created the National Instant Criminal 
Background Check System maintained by the FBI.
  I have and will continue to work with the officials at the Department 
of Justice to ensure that this law is fully implemented as soon as 
possible.

[[Page S2905]]

  I look forward to joining my friends at the First Baptist Church of 
Sutherland Springs this week to honor those they lost and to celebrate 
the grand opening of their new worship center and education building.
  Today I once again extend my deepest condolences to the families of 
those lost and to the community that continues to grieve. They have my 
full support, and I vow to do everything in my power to prevent this 
type of senseless violence from becoming the norm. No family, no 
congregation, no community should ever lose a loved one because of an 
entirely preventable crime. I hope because of this legislation, they 
never will.
  I will just say, in conclusion on this topic, what consolation, what 
comfort can you give to someone grieving the loss of a loved one? I can 
only think of one thing; that as a result of their loss and their 
sacrifice, some good will come out of it. I think the only way to 
reconcile your grief and your loss is knowing that out of your loss, 
something good will come out of it. I can genuinely say that as a 
result of the loss of these 26 parishioners at the First Baptist Church 
of Sutherland Springs, we will save lives in the future. There will be 
lives saved and lives lived as a result of their sacrifice and what we 
have done working together to try to prevent those types of acts of 
senseless, preventable violence from occurring in the future.