[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 212 (Wednesday, December 8, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S9004]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              GUN VIOLENCE

  Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I rise today, as I have done too many 
times before and as my colleague Senator Murphy did just last week, to 
reiterate what people across my home State and the entire country have 
been calling for for years now, calling for us to take action here in 
the Senate to end the crisis of gun violence that we are seeing in our 
schools, in our neighborhoods, and across our country.
  Last week, we mourned the deaths of four high school students 
following the tragic shooting at Oxford High School in Michigan. My 
heart goes out to those four students' families and friends, and my 
heart goes out to every student at Oxford High who is now carrying the 
trauma of that experience.
  My heart breaks for every student in this country who grows up 
thinking something like this will eventually happen to them at their 
school, and my heart hurts for every parent who worries every time they 
send their kid off to school because--let's face it--school shootings 
are a very real threat in this country.
  As a parent and a grandparent and a former preschool teacher, I know 
school is supposed to be a place where our children feel safe, where 
they can go to learn and grow and see friends, where they can be kids, 
but after weeks like last week, that feeling disappears, following 
school shootings like the one we saw in Michigan or threats to schools 
like we saw last week in my home State of Washington.
  Just last week, my hometown high school, Bothell High School, was 
shut down over concerns about a threat of violence. Ferndale High 
School was in lockdown Wednesday because of a threat of a gun on 
campus. That same Wednesday, the day after the shooting in Michigan, 
threats were made targeting three schools in Mukilteo School District, 
forcing local law enforcement to mobilize resources and personnel--all 
of that in just 1 week.
  While, luckily, none of those threats we saw in my home State 
escalated any further thanks in large part to the quick work of local 
officials, in the same week, Seattle saw six shootings in just over 24 
hours. From January through October of this year, Seattle has already 
seen more than 500 shooting incidents. It is already the most shootings 
the city has seen in the last decade.
  I am not the only one who thinks this cannot continue. I know because 
for years I have heard from students and teachers and parents from my 
State who want major Federal action to finally end the gun violence 
epidemic in this country. People want an end to these school shootings, 
an end to shootings at our churches and places of worship, an end to 
the shootings at our malls and stores, and an end to the gun violence 
that doesn't always make the news but happens on our streets and in our 
neighborhoods.
  As Senator Murphy said last week, we are the only high-income nation 
in the world where this happens. But it happens because we let it 
happen because, despite how many times my Democratic colleagues and I 
have come to the floor with commonsense, popular legislation to help 
prevent gun violence, our Republican colleagues block us from even 
debating those bills, let alone voting on them. Think about that. They 
won't even allow a debate on this legislation that could save lives.
  So I ask them: How many times are we going to go through this cycle? 
What will you tell parents in this country when they ask you what you 
did to stop the next school shooting? How many times will you refuse to 
even debate commonsense steps to keep our communities safe?
  It is past time Republicans either get on board with taking action to 
stop these shootings or at least get out of the way. Like so many 
parents or grandparents, I want to stop worrying if our kids are safe 
in school. And like so many Americans, I am done with my Republican 
colleagues blocking commonsense gun laws at every turn.
  At this point, you are either in favor of taking action to help put 
an end to these shootings or you are against them.
  Washington can and should continue to build on its gun safety laws. 
The administration can and should continue to invest in community 
violence intervention programs. But here is the deal: We can't address 
the full scope of the gun violence epidemic in this country without 
taking major Federal action. Universal background checks, an assault 
weapons ban, and a patchwork of gun safety laws are simply not 
adequate. We need Federal laws in place in order to protect our 
families.
  The fact that one party has listened to the voices of parents across 
the country and taken to the floor once again to call for an end to gun 
violence while the other listens to the gun lobby and stays silent in 
the face of repeated tragedy speaks volumes. Simply put, our kids and 
grandkids deserve to be safe from gun violence in their schools and on 
our streets.
  I refuse to let Republican obstruction continue to get in the way of 
commonsense measures that will save lives. All options need to be on 
the table. It is time we restore the Senate to make sure this 
institution can actually serve the interests of the vast majority of 
the American public.
  So I promise all parents, all the grandparents, everyone in 
Washington State that, despite the obstruction and silence from my 
Republican colleagues, I will not stay quiet, and I will keep pushing 
for change. And I hope the American people will do the same.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Republican whip.

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