[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 55 (Wednesday, March 24, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S1727]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                              Gun Violence

  Mr. President, the final point I want to make is regarding the 
hearing we held yesterday. It was a hearing before the Senate Judiciary 
Committee on guns and gun violence. I scheduled it last week, and I 
didn't know as I scheduled it the tragedy that was occurring in 
Atlanta, GA, with eight people who were murdered. We heard about that. 
It was an outrage, these poor, innocent people killed--coincidentally, 
the majority of them Asian Americans--at a time when we know hate 
crimes against Asian Americans are on the rise.
  That was the day that I announced the hearing that occurred 
yesterday, but little did I know, as we prepared 2 days ago for that 
hearing, what would happen in Boulder, CO, just 2 days ago when 10 
innocent people were killed at a supermarket.
  We had a hearing yesterday. It was an important hearing. Members all 
attended. Sadly, one of the members on the other side came in, the 
junior Senator from Texas, and characterized our hearing on gun 
violence, in light of what is happening in America, as ``ridiculous 
theater.'' Those were his words, ``ridiculous theater.'' There was 
nothing ridiculous about the hearing that we held yesterday. It was a 
matter of life and death.
  The grief that is being felt in Boulder, CO; Atlanta, GA; and all 
over America is a grief that is shared on a daily basis. Forty thousand 
Americans each year lose their lives to gun violence--40,000--a 
recordbreaking number and nothing we should be proud of as a nation.
  When we address gun violence and the measures that should be taken to 
reduce it, it is not ridiculous; it is as serious as it gets. 
Furthermore, it is not theater. Theater is a depiction of reality; the 
Senate Judiciary Committee is reality.
  We are imparted, as Senators, to change the laws of America and make 
it safer. That is not a theatrical performance; that is just 
discharging our duties as U.S. Senators.
  So I would say to that Senator and others, I agree completely with 
Senator Schumer. We need to bring bills to the floor that will reduce 
gun violence in America, keep firearms out of the hands of people who 
should not have them. Convicted felons and mentally unstable people 
should not be having guns and buying them and be able to kill innocent 
people who are just stopping by the supermarket to pick up something to 
take home. That is what happened in Boulder, CO.
  As the stories are printed in newspapers across America about those 
lives lost, it is a grim reminder that this is not ridiculous. It is 
not theater. It is a life-and-death issue which we have the power to 
change.
  I hope we can bring this measure to the floor, the one that passed 
the House of Representatives--and others--to bring sanity to our Second 
Amendment, to make sure that we have constitutional, commonsense gun 
safety that is consistent with any constitutional right.
  I yield the floor.