[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 30 (Thursday, February 13, 2020)]
[House]
[Pages H1127-H1128]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         VICTIMS OF GUN VIOLENCE TO HOLD GUN TRAFFICKERS LIABLE

  (Mr. CASTEN of Illinois asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute.)
  Mr. CASTEN of Illinois. Madam Speaker, 1 year ago Saturday, five 
people lost their lives and many more were

[[Page H1128]]

injured when a gunman entered an Aurora, Illinois, warehouse and 
started shooting.
  At the vigil for those victims, I made it clear that, if we want to 
stop people from getting shot, we have to politicize this and we have 
to take legislative action.
  Now, Illinois has some of the strongest gun laws in the country, but 
our neighbors don't. In Chicago, 60 percent of the guns recovered from 
crime scenes were trafficked in from out of State. And, worse, we have 
never had the courage to regulate guns the same way we regulate cars. 
If my daughter took my car out and crashed into my neighbor's garage, I 
would be liable. That is common sense.
  That is why, yesterday, I introduced the Gun Trafficker Detention 
Act. This bill requires gun owners to report if their gun is lost or 
stolen within 48 hours and imposes criminal penalties if they fail to 
do so and their gun turns up at a crime scene. It would also allow the 
victims of gun violence to hold traffickers legally liable for death or 
injury caused by their guns, regardless of who pulled the trigger.
  Are there people who won't like this bill? Yes--gun traffickers. 
Every other American will be safer, and I encourage my colleagues to 
join me and support this bill.

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