[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 61 (Wednesday, April 6, 2022)]
[House]
[Pages H4199-H4200]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          STOP MASS SHOOTINGS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. Deutch) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. DEUTCH. Mr. Speaker, a recently released Violence Project study 
has found that more than half of all mass shootings between 1966 and 
2019 occurred since 2000. There have been more and more shootings. It 
is getting worse and worse. Mass shootings have occurred in the 
workplace, on college campuses, in our houses of worship, and in our 
schools. We must do better.
  These shootings cut off young lives and devastate families. We owe it 
to the victims to do more to combat gun violence in our communities. We 
owe it to Joaquin Oliver.
  Joaquin was 17 years old when he was shot and killed with an assault 
rifle at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. 
This is Joaquin.
  But this symbol of Joaquin is also an assault rifle. You see, this is 
an assault rifle that was purchased by Joaquin's dad, Manny, without a 
background check.
  Manny went to a gun show in Florida and bought a high-powered rifle 
without a background check. Then he went home, and he melted it down to 
make this statue of his son, who was killed by a similar weapon in his 
school on Valentine's Day.
  This statue of Joaquin is now a powerful reminder of our weak gun 
laws and the countless American lives that have been stolen, families 
broken by gun violence.
  When Manny went to a gun show, the seller pushed him to buy the 
rifle, to buy ammunition, to buy a high-capacity magazine, all at one 
time, without a background check. And Manny wondered, what's the rush?
  What is the rush? Why does anyone need a deadly arsenal in one 
afternoon, with no questions asked?
  We have put a lot of effort into making background checks work well 
for legal gun buyers. The National Instant Criminal Background System, 
the NICS system, returns results in as fast as 30 seconds.
  Every gun buyer at a gun show, every gun buyer online, every gun 
buyer at a licensed dealer, every gun buyer should

[[Page H4200]]

go through that system to keep our communities safe. But they don't 
because of a dangerous loophole like the one that allowed Manny to buy 
an AR-15 at a gun show without a background check.

                              {time}  1100

  The background check system is the foundation of gun safety in 
America. When that foundation is weak, like it is today, it makes all 
of us less safe.
  We need universal background checks. States with laws requiring 
background checks on all sales have lower gun homicide rates than 
States that don't. Guns from States that lack background check laws 
often end up recovered from crime scenes in neighboring States without 
those tough laws.
  That is why we need a uniform national requirement to end weak gun 
laws that contribute to trafficking.
  The President visited New York City recently after two police 
officers were fatally shot, and he urged the need for universal 
background checks. He rightly said our country needs a comprehensive 
strategy to dramatically reduce gun violence. The Attorney General of 
the United States has directed U.S. attorneys to confront gun 
trafficking across State lines and in cities.
  I strongly support the President's call for a comprehensive strategy. 
As part of that strategy, Congress should do what many States are 
currently working on to ban untraceable ghost guns, similar to the law 
that was signed in New York in October of last year. Congress can do 
this.
  Congress should also pass safe storage legislation to protect kids 
from being harmed by loaded weapons kept unsafely in their homes. We 
should ban weapons of war that don't belong in our community and are 
regularly used to hunt innocent people. Who needs to be able to fire 
off 50 or 100 rounds at a time?
  Congress should recognize that high-capacity magazines have no place 
in our communities and that their only purpose is to make it easy to 
cause mass casualties.
  These proposals have significant support. Ninety percent of 
Americans, including gun owners, want universal and stronger background 
checks.
  Would a stronger background check system prevent every instance of 
gun violence? No, of course not. Would ending large-capacity ammunition 
magazines prevent mass casualties caused by guns? No, but they will 
make us safer. They will make our communities safer. They will make our 
schools safer. They will make the workplace safer. They will make 
people feel safer as they attend religious services. They will make it 
easier for law enforcement to do their jobs safely every day.
  Continued inaction on confronting gun violence will only lead to more 
innocent people dying from firearms. Congress must take action to get 
strong gun violence prevention legislation for Joaquin and the 16 
others who were taken at Stoneman Douglas, for their families, and for 
America.

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