[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 104 (Thursday, June 20, 2019)]
[House]
[Pages H4925-H4926]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         STOPPING GUN VIOLENCE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Illinois (Ms. Kelly) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. KELLY of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I rise today for Hadiya 
Pendleton, taken by gun violence on January 23, 2013. She was 15.
  I rise for Terrell Bosley, taken by gun violence on April 4, 2006. He 
was 18 and unloading musical instruments from a car.
  I rise for Blair Holt, taken by gun violence on May 7, 2007. He was 
16 and died shielding others from bullets.
  Today I rise for Gregory Shondale, killed yesterday. He was 41.
  Madam Speaker, I rise for them and for all those taken from us by 
senseless gun violence that continues unchecked in our Nation because 
of inaction on the part of the Senate Majority Leader and the 
President.
  I rise today more than 100 days after this House, the people's House, 
sent bipartisan universal background check legislation, H.R. 8, to the 
Senate, which has failed to consider any legislation for more than 8 
weeks.
  I rise today for the 100 Americans who will lose their lives to gun 
violence today and Americans who will be shot, survive, and face a 
lifetime of recovery. That will be 210 Americans.
  I rise because someone must--someone must--stand up to speak for 
those who have had their voices silenced by gun violence. Someone must 
speak for the mom of five who suffered domestic violence, found the 
courage to leave her abusive relationship, and ended up dead because 
her abuser had easy access to a gun.
  Someone must speak up for the little girl playing in the park who was 
gunned down because guns are more common than schools in her 
neighborhood.
  Someone must speak for the veteran and the farmer who face what seem 
like insurmountable odds with no way out, who tragically end their own 
life.
  Someone must speak for those killed at Pulse and at supermarkets 
because of who they are and whom they love.
  Someone must speak for the person, often a young Black man, who will 
be gunned down by a cop who shot first and asked questions later.
  Someone must speak for the first responders who are taking their own

[[Page H4926]]

lives at alarming rates. Someone must speak for them.
  Someone must tell the story of everyday gun violence that plagues our 
communities from Chicago to Key West.
  Too often, this House focuses on the mass shooting tragedies in this 
Nation that have become more and more common since our Republican 
colleagues allowed the assault weapons ban to expire in 2004. We hold 
moments of silence. My colleagues run to their tweets with their 
thoughts and prayers to justify their continued and negligent inaction. 
But we forget gun violence happens every day in every community.
  We cannot forget about those who died alone from gun violence in city 
parks, in road rage incidents, and in their own homes, entrapped by 
depression and despair. They, too, deserve to be remembered. Their 
lives and stories should also challenge us to actions so we can say 
``not one more'' and then actually do something to prevent another 
death, another funeral, and another life forever altered.
  Madam Speaker, I am proud that this House finally acted. After the 
American people sent a historic wave of new Members to Congress, 
Members who understand that commonsense gun safety reform saves lives, 
we voted to enact bipartisan universal background check legislation 
that is supported by more than 90 percent of Americans and 70 percent 
of NRA members.
  We also voted to close the Charleston loophole, a clear gap in our 
laws that allowed a known white supremacist to legally purchase a 
weapon and use it to steal the lives of nine people seeking to better 
know their God.
  We know this is a problem. We passed legislation to close this 
loophole, and yet the Senate, controlled by Republicans, have still 
done nothing. My good colleagues in the Senate continue to do nothing 
while people die every day in every State and in every community. Still 
they do nothing. They refuse to act. Still they offer hollow thoughts 
and prayers while rushing to the bank with pockets full of NRA 
donations.

                              {time}  0945

  Perhaps that is the problem, Madam Speaker. Perhaps it is the money.
  The American people should know that the President got $30 million 
from the NRA in his 2016 campaign. What are they buying?
  The American people deserve to know that the Senate majority leader 
has taken more than $1 million from the NRA over his career. What were 
they investing in?
  The American people deserve to know that too many in the GOP are 
bought and sold by the NRA or too often afraid of them to grow a spine 
and stand up for their constituents.
  It is a sad fact that just 8--that is right, just 8--of 198 Members, 
or a mere 4 percent of the House Republican Conference, had the courage 
to stand with gun violence victims and 90 percent of Americans. I thank 
those courageous eight Republicans for voting to save lives.
  Madam Speaker, to my colleagues still too afraid or too owned by the 
NRA to act, I say good luck next year. They had their chance, and they 
failed miserably. They are on the wrong side of history.
  Next year, the American people will not forget.

                          ____________________