[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 98 (Wednesday, June 12, 2019)]
[House]
[Page H4438]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      PULSE NIGHTCLUB ANNIVERSARY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Massachusetts (Ms. Clark) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, 3 years ago, tragedy struck 
Orlando, Florida, at the Pulse nightclub.
  Over 100 people celebrating life with friends, partners, and family 
were gunned down on a dance floor at a gay club; 49 of them lost their 
lives.
  A place of refuge was transformed into a death trap by a hateful and 
cowardly act, and today we can honor those lives by calling for action.
  At the time, the Pulse nightclub was the deadliest mass shooting in 
modern U.S. history. Tragically, in the 3 years since this shooting, we 
have witnessed more senseless suffering and death:
  Parishioners in Texas and South Carolina and worshippers in 
Pennsylvania;
  Students in Santa Fe and Parkland;
  Municipal workers in Virginia Beach;
  Neighbors on sidewalks and parks;
  Over 50 people shot in just one weekend in Chicago 2 weeks ago;
  And then 58 concert goers in Las Vegas lost their lives, taking the 
grizzly title of the deadliest mass shooting.
  Days after the Pulse shooting, I joined with my colleague, the iconic 
Congressman   John Lewis, in leading a sit-in right here on this very 
floor. We could not stand for another day of inaction. We stopped 
Congress because Congress had stopped working for the American people.
  Now, 3 years later, within months of taking the majority, we have 
passed two gun safety bills. And while I am encouraged and proud of the 
work we have done here in the House, we see the same obstructionist 
game being played out in the Senate. The two bills are stalled, and 
Americans continue to die.
  Mr. Speaker, 40,000 people a year die from gun violence in our 
country. Every day, 100 Americans are killed with guns, and hundreds 
more are shot and injured.
  Gun violence and mass shootings have gone from a rare event to a 
public health crisis. Just this week, Massachusetts General Hospital 
opened a Gun Violence Prevention Center to teach doctors how to deal 
with firearm safety in recognition of the public health risk that gun 
violence has become to Americans.
  Mr. Speaker, today I come before you standing and not sitting, but 
still imploring with the Senate to take a vote: Perform your basic 
responsibilities not as Members of Congress but, also, as members of 
our communities.
  We cannot waste another day. Millions of Americans at home are 
worried for their families, frustrated by our inaction, and scared that 
they or anyone they love could be next.
  We have a simple message on this grim anniversary for the Senate: 
Stop the silence. Pass commonsense gun violence prevention measures. 
Pass the Equality Act, and do your job for the people.

                          ____________________