[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 78 (Tuesday, May 9, 2023)]
[House]
[Pages H2161-H2167]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
{time} 2030
CONGRESSIONAL BLACK CAUCUS CALLS FOR GUN SAFETY LEGISLATION
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Alford). Under the Speaker's announced
policy of January 9, 2023, the gentlewoman from Florida (Mrs.
Cherfilus-McCormick) is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of
the minority leader.
General Leave
Mrs. CHERFILUS-McCORMICK. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that
all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks
and include any extraneous material on the subject of this Special
Order.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentlewoman from Florida?
There was no objection.
Mrs. CHERFILUS-McCORMICK. Mr. Speaker, it is with great honor that I
rise today to co-anchor the CBC Special Order hour along with the
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Jackson), my distinguished colleague.
[[Page H2162]]
For the next 60 minutes, members of the CBC have an opportunity to
speak directly to the American people on gun violence, the Bipartisan
Safer Communities Act, and what we must do to build upon all issues of
great importance to the Congressional Black Caucus, Congress, the
constituents we represent, and all Americans.
I rise today to demand that we take decisive action to stop the gun
violence epidemic. We simply cannot stand by and watch more innocent
Americans lose their lives. The fate of our loved ones should not be up
for partisan debate.
I will work with any elected official to put people over politics and
implement solutions that keep dangerous weapons out of the hands of
dangerous people. It is why I am joined here with my colleagues to
support the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. This law is a commonsense
and practical solution to the barrage of gun violence that many of us
have unfortunately become too familiar with.
Of course, there is certainly more that Congress can do, should be
doing, and needs to do.
We can pass an assault weapons ban, which would take these weapons of
war off the streets and out of our classrooms.
We can enhance the background checks process, making sure individuals
who purchase guns are fully vetted beforehand.
We can end immunity for gun manufacturers that produce deadly
firearms that take our lives.
There is no shortage of common sense and immediate solutions that
this body can implement. Unfortunately, House Republicans have failed
to move with the same sense of urgency as House Democrats have in
response to the spate of gun shootings.
This is not a partisan matter, either. Gun violence impacts families,
blue States, red States, and purple States. Each and every
heartbreaking mass shooting serves as a painful reminder of the
normalcy and how normal this gun violence epidemic has become.
It is infiltrating our daily lives. These headlines frustrate me
deeply, and they should do the same for each and every Representative
in this body.
Thoughts and prayers must be coupled with legislative action,
tangible solutions that address this crisis. Let's join together and
build on the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, ensuring a safer country
for the next generation and others to come.
We have the responsibility to act as lawmakers, as parents, as
Americans.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr.
Clyburn), our honorable assistant Democratic leader of the House.
Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding me
this time.
Mr. Speaker, earlier this evening, we gathered on this floor to
observe a moment of silence. We have been doing that quite a bit over
the last several years, but it seems to me that it is time for us to
take some action on something that is very important to the American
people.
This week, our Nation is collectively mourning the senseless murder
of eight people at the hands of a white supremacist, a neo-Nazi shooter
in Allen, Texas. In the days since, we have heard gut-wrenching stories
of pain and devastation, like 6-year-old William Cho, who lost his
entire family in the massacre, and the deaths of sisters Daniela and
Sofia Mendoza, 11 and 8, who were both in elementary school.
Then there is Steven Spainhouer, an everyday citizen who tried to
administer aid after the tragedy. I watched him on television this
week, and he was very vivid.
If my memory serves, he is a former police officer, and he talked
about how he felt when he turned over a body to remove a child from
underneath its dead mother's body.
This tragedy comes nearly 1 year after the lives of 19 children and 2
teachers were taken in Uvalde, Texas, and just a few weeks before the
8-year anniversary of the mass shooting perpetrated by another white
supremacist at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina.
We have taken some important steps in response to these tragedies. I
have reintroduced my bill to close the deadly Charleston loophole that
allowed the Mother Emanuel AME Church shooter to obtain a gun. Because
of his record, he should not have been able to get a gun.
Because this Congress has refused to close this loophole, which says
if you can't complete the background check in 3 days, irrespective of
your background, irrespective of whether or not you are eligible to
have a gun, if, for any reason, that background check is not completed
in 3 days, you can still get the gun. That is silly.
We have no idea why that young man's information was keyed in wrong.
Did he intentionally give the wrong information, or did West Columbia
get confused with Columbia? They found the problem, but it was too
late. It was more than 3 days. He already had the gun, and nine of my
constituents lost their lives because of that loophole.
We refuse to say we will close it. That makes no sense.
We enacted the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act to require enhanced
background checks for people under 21, provide protection for victims
of domestic violence, and institute criminal offenses for Federal and
State straw purchasing and gun trafficking and some significant
investments in mental health treatment.
In a shocking and long-overdue turn of events, Texas Republicans, on
Monday, unexpectedly allowed a bill that would raise the purchase age
for semiautomatic rifles from 18 to 21 to advance out of a Texas House
committee. I am very pleased to see that, but I am wondering what will
happen when that bill gets to the floor.
Raising the age to purchase a gun made for war from 18 to 21, that,
to me, tells it all--to allow a teenager that we would not allow to
walk into a restaurant and order an alcoholic beverage but will be
allowed to purchase a weapon of war.
For all of our progress, more must be done.
There have been over 200 mass shootings this year alone. I think we
all know the definition of a mass shooting is four or more injuries,
irrespective of whether or not they are fatal.
In 2019 and 2020, we didn't reach this grim milestone until late
June. Between 2016 and 2018, the country passed 200 mass shootings in
late July. Two years ago, late June; 2 years before that, late July;
this year, early May. What will it be next year? This epidemic is
growing more and more deadly with each passing year.
My Democratic colleagues understand the weight of these tragedies and
are prepared to advance the legislation needed to protect our
communities.
To our colleagues across the aisle and in the Senate, I say silence
gives consent. For us to remain silent on this issue is to give consent
to these tragedies.
It is not enough to denounce the actions of mass shooters and offer
thoughts and prayers in tweets and on cable news. My colleagues on the
other side's refusal to join House Democrats in advancing serious gun
violence prevention measures signifies that your silence and your
consent represent your feelings.
Legislative actions such as closing the Charleston loophole,
strengthening red flag laws, and getting weapons of war off our streets
would not prohibit law-abiding citizens from purchasing a gun.
For the life of me, I cannot understand why it is that all of us can
readily agree that there should be a limit on the First Amendment of
the United States that protects speech but no limit on the Second
Amendment of the United States Constitution that authorizes the
possession of firearms.
Nobody wants to take anybody's guns away. We are trying to take
measures that will keep guns out of the hands of hateful people like
these white supremacists who are killing people because they don't like
their skin color, people who are mentally ill who have had all kinds of
fantasies that are killing people because we do not have the intestinal
fortitude to put constraints on their abilities to purchase these guns.
These policies, which have broad support among the American people,
would save lives without infringing on anybody's Second Amendment
rights.
Mr. Speaker, I implore my Republican colleagues and the Senate to
join us in taking a stand to protect our communities. This epidemic
will not end until we act.
[[Page H2163]]
Mrs. CHERFILUS-McCORMICK. Mr. Speaker, it is my privilege to yield to
the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).
{time} 2045
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, let me express my appreciation to the
gentlewoman from Florida for her grand leadership and the gentleman
from Illinois. They have been dynamic. I acknowledge our chair,
Congressman Horsford, of the Congressional Black Caucus, who had a very
powerful morning this morning, and as well continues to lead us in the
right direction.
I was late today because I could not leave the pain of Texas without
standing with those in a press conference in the Mickey Leland Federal
Building to express both our outcry, our pain, and our outrage.
Last evening, MSNBC had a headline show that said the ``Lone Star
Hate.'' I stand here today to say there are good people in Texas. There
are people who are demanding that there be action in the aftermath of
the worst couple of days that we have had in a long time.
The parents of the Uvalde children waited 13 hours in the State
legislature just to be heard on raising the age of those who could
purchase weapons of war. In the midst of that, a family who simply
wanted their baby to sleep was slaughtered and murdered, in the midst
of that, by a person shooting an AR-15. A veteran explained to me that
that is an M16, a weapon of war, which maims and kills the enemy so
that they cannot rise, not be taken care of, and not move away from
other gunfire.
Of course, though not by guns, in Brownsville, Texas, some eight or
so people were killed who were simply trying to make sure that they had
a peaceful place to be.
I come here today to insist on my own State taking a stand to ensure
that the people who are crying cry no more.
The individual who killed the people in the mall in Allen, Texas,
family members removed him from their house. He was tattooed with huge
Nazi and white supremacy insignia.
My bill that I introduced, H.R. 61, indicates that white supremacy is
hate, it is a hate crime, and I amended the hate crime bill to ensure
that if you die because of white supremacy, they get an enhanced
sentence due to hate crime legislation.
He only lasted 3 months in the United States military. We have to do
a better job communicating about individuals--not brave soldiers who
have PTSD, but individuals like this who didn't even last because of
his views and attitudes and behavior. He obviously hated viciously, but
he was able to get an AR-15.
After Uvalde, the State of Texas, the Governor's office, established
a DPS task force that was supposed to monitor social media. Why wasn't
this individual monitored, with all of his hate?
Underlying all of that are guns. That is what we spoke about today,
guns. We asked the State of Texas, the legislature, my friends, and
those who work with Republicans, we asked them to be sure to move this
bill to raise the age to 21. The Uvalde parents waited 13 hours. It
came out of committee. It has to go to the House and Senate.
I stood there today and asked for universal background checks, and I
asked the State of Texas why--with the Safer Communities Act, where we
had the red flag laws and, of course, Congresswoman McBath, we led in
the House to protect our kids. It was mandatory. It was mandatory. But
in the Safer Communities Act, it was optional--our State has not taken
advantage of it? They squeaked through and got a few dollars for the
veterans court. I am asking the Governor to opt in to the red flag law,
universal background checks, the Kimberly Vaughan gun storage
legislation, the ban on assault weapons, and raising the age. These are
all items that Texas and other States can do without violating the
Second Amendment.
I uphold the Second Amendment. Standing with me today, with Moms
Demand Action, a young man by the name of Jay Love, who is marred for
our lives; along with Captain Phillips, a police officer, who says that
3,200 guns are stolen or taken in Houston, Texas, as the ATF says, out
of people's cars. Yet, we can't get Texas to act. Rhonda Hart, whose
daughter was killed in Santa Fe, who is begging for relief.
With that kind of pain comes the ability to act. I look forward to
working with my colleagues in the Congressional Black Caucus who have
been at the forefront of leadership. My colleague Robin Kelly has
mentioned over and over again the absolute violence that kills children
and others.
I close with this simple acknowledgment. There were eight people who
died, I believe, in Allen, Texas, three family members, left a little
6-year-old with no one; two sisters. This is what this sinister, evil
man did. With evil in his evilness, he did it with a gun.
We must come back to this Congress and do something that is going to
make a difference. I hope the Senate can pick it up and realize that we
cannot live in this country anymore with the reckless killing and
violence that is perpetrated on our loved ones and on Americans.
Mrs. CHERFILUS-McCORMICK. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from
New Jersey (Mr. Payne).
Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, I begin by thanking Congresswoman Cherfilus-
McCormick and Congressman Jackson for holding the CBC Special Order
hour on gun violence in America.
Last week, our Nation was shocked by the acts of horrific violence in
Allen, Texas, where eight souls were lost unnecessarily.
How many killings must we endure?
We are here tonight to send a message that we must keep guns out of
the hands of criminals and would-be terrorists, and we must expand
background checks for individuals looking to purchase guns. We must
pass some commonsense legislation that provides avenues to get guns off
of our streets.
Legislation like my Safer Neighborhoods Gun Buyback Act would utilize
Federal grants to get guns out of the hands of criminals. Programs like
it have been proven to work all over this Nation, from coast to coast.
We need to act on this bill and others like it to protect American
lives.
It is unacceptable that countless Americans continue to die
senselessly from gun violence and Congress stands idly by. They do
nothing.
I came up with a phrase back after Newtown. The NRA, which is really
who pushes this: The NRA stands for ``no Republican action.''
Here we are once again. Yes, we stood up for a moment of silence
tonight once again. Then once the gavel hit the rostrum, everybody
walked away and that was the end of that. My colleagues on the other
side feel good after that, after they stand up and acknowledge that.
But that is the extent of what they are willing to do, just stand up to
honor these people for a moment. That is all they can spare. That is
all they can give to the American people who are suffering, children
suffering.
This issue is so pervasive that it impacts us everywhere: movie
theaters, churches, schools, banks, post offices, businesses,
everywhere. That is an epidemic. COVID was everywhere. That was an
epidemic. This gun violence is everywhere. That is an epidemic.
But what do we do? Stand up, quiet for a moment, and then onto the
next thing.
I see it at home in New Jersey in my district, New Jersey's 10th
Congressional District. The 10th Congressional District, unfortunately,
has one-third of the State's total gun deaths in New Jersey. I know my
constituents know the destruction that gun violence inflicts. This is a
problem that will continue to grow without swift legislation and
action.
But my words are just going into the wind. My colleagues on the other
side don't hear this. The American people want real action on gun
violence. The NRA endorsed Republicans, which is practically the entire
party, and has offered no substantive legislation to keep our
communities safe from gun violence.
My colleagues are the majority now. Let's see what we implement. I
can answer that now: nothing.
So many of our constituents are haunted by the gun violence that is
taking their loved ones, and that is why Democrats are in favor of
stronger gun laws to keep these weapons out of dangerous hands.
We are not asking to take anybody's guns, but we can't have enough
mindset to say: Hey, there is a problem here? I don't know where my
colleagues on the other side are listening and getting this from.
Eighty-seven
[[Page H2164]]
percent of this country says that we need stricter gun laws, but you
don't hear them.
Too many lives have been stolen, too many children killed. Can't
Republicans feel the pain of the survivors of these victims' families?
The American people are calling for passage of meaningful legislation
to address gun violence. They are calling for action to stop mass
killings in this country. They are calling to stop the taking of
innocent children's lives in their schools.
I couldn't imagine sending my children to school these days and
wondering if they are going to make it home. I am sending them there to
be educated. I am not sending them there to do armed drills. What
happens if there is an active shooter? That is what they are learning?
I look at my colleagues across the aisle and ask: Is there nothing
that we can do together to stop this?
When children cannot go to school without fear of being shot, when
innocent Americans cannot go to a nightclub or a movie theater or
church without fear of being executed, then it is time for a new
approach. The Congressional Black Caucus, with our Democratic
colleagues, stands ready to deliver that approach.
{time} 2100
Mr. Speaker, I want to read to you from a letter sent to me by a
student at Cranford High School in Cranford, New Jersey, named
Alessandra, who puts into words the thoughts of most Americans. She
wrote: ``Although the Second Amendment of the Constitution protects the
right to gun ownership, this does not mean that Congress cannot pass
more laws to restrict the kinds of firearms and people buying them. As
a high school student from Cranford High School, this issue affects me
daily as the number of school shootings increases.''
Mr. Speaker, I will close and say that we have a responsibility to
our constituents, like Alessandra. We have a responsibility to ensure
our Nation's laws keep us safe and to ensure that we hear their voices
and act on their behalf.
Mrs. CHERFILUS-McCORMICK. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman
from Ohio (Mrs. Beatty).
Mrs. BEATTY. Mr. Speaker, I rise this evening to be another voice on
the epidemic of gun violence in our country.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Florida and the gentleman
from Illinois for leading us in this Special Order hour. Certainly, to
the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, we thank Congressman
Steven Horsford for keeping this at the forefront of our agenda.
I will begin by saluting the actions of my colleague and friend,
Congressman James Clyburn, for leading us in this charge tonight.
Listening to him, I remember quite vividly, unfortunately, as I sat in
that Charleston, South Carolina, church, the Emanuel AME Church, during
the funeral of those killed.
Tonight reminds me of the far too many lives--children and adults--
taken by guns in the hands of a killer who should not have had that
gun. You will hear it repeatedly, so I won't go through my entire
address. Let me just highlight that gun violence continues to serve as
a public health crisis.
I am horrified to see another devastating act of hateful gun violence
in America. Let me join others in giving my thoughts and prayers to the
families of the eight innocent people who lost their lives due to this
tragic hate crime in Allen, Texas.
This story is not a new one, Mr. Speaker. We have seen this play out
repeatedly. We are very clear that thoughts and prayers are not enough.
I am honored, again, unfortunately, to have to say that I am a
colleague and friend of Congresswoman Robin Kelly, and early on, she
sat in that front row and said to us that she would no longer stand up
and give 60 seconds for someone who has lost their life, whether it was
a mass shooting or whether it was a kid in a playground or a kid in a
car. Enough is enough.
A few weeks ago, I stood in this same spot with the same microphone
begging, Mr. Speaker, my Republican colleagues to do more than say to
trust in God and let's pray for 60 seconds. Every time we say that,
multiple lives are lost in our district.
There have been, as we heard earlier, more than 200 mass shootings in
2023. When will it end? How many lives must be lost? How many mass
shootings must occur? How many times must we meet here on this floor
for another Special Order hour or another moment of silence for
families of the victims who have lost their lives?
Literally, I am standing here begging my Republican colleagues to
join us in passing legislation that will help protect our communities.
I have nothing against the Second Amendment. My father was a hunter.
I have been around guns all my life. It is not about that. It is about
assault weapons. It is about those who should not be able to get a gun
without being vetted, without being of proper age, without being able
to go in a back alley or to a gun show to buy it. We need legislation
like the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act.
We are coming tonight as Democrats with not just rhetoric and not
just begging and pleading. We are giving you resolve and action. We
need the first gun control action in decades that will advance more
lifesaving measures like universal background checks, banning high-
capacity magazines, red flag laws, and raising the age to buy assault
weapons. We cannot continue to turn a blind eye.
Lastly, in my district alone, we have seen a number of lives being
lost to gun violence. Over the weekend, three shootings across Columbus
injured people, including multiple family members and officers. The
American people are demanding action.
Mr. Speaker, I say to you: Let it not be about Democrats and
Republicans. This is what the American people who elected us are asking
us to do. Inaction, Mr. Speaker, should not be an action.
They tell us to direct all comments to you. You sit in the chair
tonight. I am asking that when you leave this chair and go to your
caucus, you have an obligation, I believe, to share with them what you
have heard on this floor tonight and what your constituents have said
to you.
I think if we have any conscience of doing what is right for the
American people, we will put gun violence at the forefront of our
agenda. We will put people over politics no matter what side of the
aisle we sit on. We should come together to do the right thing.
Mrs. CHERFILUS-McCORMICK. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman
from Illinois (Ms. Kelly).
Ms. KELLY of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues for hosting
this Special Order hour tonight.
Mr. Speaker, when I ran for Congress, I ran on gun violence
prevention. That was 10 years ago, and I am running just as hard today.
I always ask just who or how many have to be killed before we really
do something about this public health crisis.
According to a recent study by professors from Harvard and Cambridge,
by the age of 40, half of Chicago residents have seen someone shot.
Just seeing someone shot is known to cause trauma and PTSD that impacts
your ability to lead a happy, healthy life. Our communities deserve
better.
Mr. Speaker, 56 percent of Black and Hispanic residents under 40
witnessed a shooting, compared to 25 percent of White residents under
40. Black Chicago residents are more than three times more likely to be
shot than White residents. Mr. Speaker, 176 victims have been killed in
Chicago in 2023.
Just this weekend alone, 4 people were killed and 22 were wounded
because of gun violence in Chicago. This past weekend, a 27-year-old
man was shot while putting groceries in his car.
Hours later, a Chicago police officer was fatally shot as she arrived
home from work early Saturday. She was 24. Instead of graduating with
her master's next week, it will be her funeral.
The next day, a 25-year-old man was killed in a drive-by shooting.
Among the 22 wounded in the past weekend was a 15-year-old boy who
was shot in the leg and rushed to the hospital.
In the last month around the country, a young lady was shot and
killed while turning into a driveway, something we have all done. A boy
was shot because he knocked on the wrong door while looking for his
siblings. We have
[[Page H2165]]
all knocked on the wrong door from time to time. A dad and a little
girl were shot because the basketball they were playing with rolled
into a neighbor's yard.
Mr. Speaker, two cheerleaders were shot because they went to the
wrong car--something I know I have done before--and the guy jumped out
and shot the cheerleaders.
Is this the kind of country we want to survive in? I will tell you,
this is not living.
{time} 2110
We have got to do more. My colleagues have named the various things
that we can do, and I work in a very bipartisan way. But I tell you,
Mr. Speaker, Republicans have blood on their hands. It is just amazing
to me that in these 10 years they have turned a blind eye. They talk
about the Second Amendment. Many of us have told them we believe in the
Second Amendment, but we also believe that people have the right to go
to the park, to go to the store, to go to school, to ride the city bus,
to come out of band practice, and to come out of choir practice.
What about those rights for those people?
Think about it.
Mrs. CHERFILUS-McCORMICK. Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Kelly
for her remarks.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Allred).
Mr. ALLRED. Mr. Speaker, last Saturday started out as a beautiful
day, and families with kids just like mine headed to the Allen Premium
Outlets. It is a place that every north Texan knows. It is where we go
to get good deals and to get a new outfit for school or for work. Now
some of those folks are never going to come home. Eight people were
murdered, and dozens of lives were changed forever.
As a Texan, I want to say their names here so that they will live on
in our Congressional Record for as long as our Republic stands.
The Cho family: Cho Kyu Song, his wife Kang Shin Young, and their 3-
year-old son James--just 3 years old.
They are survived by their 6-year-old son, William, who is a child
who lost his entire world in one afternoon.
Along with the Cho family, we also lost Christian LaCour, a security
guard who died saving others and showing incredible bravery. Christian
was just 20 years old.
We lost Aishwarya Thatikonda who was an engineer and who moved to the
U.S. from India just 5 years ago and was full of high hopes.
As well we lost Elio Cumana-Rivas who was working hard to send money
home to his mother and father in Venezuela.
Finally, we lost Daniela and Sofia Mendoza. Daniela was in fourth
grade. Sofia was in second grade. Their mother Hilda is in critical
condition.
A high school classmate of mine emailed me yesterday, Mr. Speaker, to
tell me that one of our classmates had a son who attended their
elementary school. My district lies just south of the mall in Allen.
This is deeply personal for me and for all north Texans.
My deepest prayers and condolences go out to these families. I cannot
imagine what they are going through.
I grieve with my fellow Texans as we endure yet another mass
shooting. The wounds from that day will be with our community forever.
It impacts all of us. I know because my wife and I have two boys who
are 4 and 2. I held my boys so much closer the morning after that
shooting. I know how so many parents are feeling right now: the fear
that the next time it will be your family in the wrong place at the
wrong time.
I also don't believe that it has to be this way. I know it doesn't
have to be this way. We don't have to live like this.
Our public places don't have to become memorials. Our places of
worship, our malls, and especially our schools don't have to become the
site of the next tragedy.
Let me tell you, Mr. Speaker, I am so sick and tired of hearing some
politician talk about what we can't do or saying that just raising the
topic is dividing us. That is not who we are. There is nothing that we
can't do in the United States of America when we put our minds to it.
We can keep our families and our children safe.
It is also not my Texas.
Just yesterday, though, a bipartisan group in a Texas Statehouse
committee did vote to raise the age to buy an assault rifle from 18 to
21.
That is my Texas where folks can come together across the aisle to
get things done consistent with the Second Amendment and without
abridging the rights of law-abiding gun owners. There are commonsense
things that we can agree on and that the American people overwhelmingly
support, like universal background checks, red flag laws to keep the
guns out of the hands of dangerous individuals who shouldn't have them
and raising the legal age to purchase semi-automatic rifles.
We could do those right now in a bipartisan fashion.
Let us start there and work together to save lives.
While we offer our prayers and as we observed a moment of silence
tonight, let us act for the north Texans we lost and the ones who will
be forever changed.
Mrs. CHERFILUS-McCORMICK. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman
from Georgia (Mrs. McBath).
Mrs. McBATH. Mr. Speaker, I thank the honorable Representative
Cherfilus-McCormick and the honorable Representative Jackson for
hosting this evening's Congressional Black Caucus Special Order hour on
gun safety.
This evening we are in this Chamber just merely weeks before we
commemorate the massacre of 19 children in their elementary school, and
in the last few days even parents have died as human shields in
Cleveland, Texas. A woman was murdered, and four others wounded even in
my home State of Georgia, and a first grader lost both of his parents
and his baby brother in the same shooting in Allen, Texas.
Eight people were murdered as they just simply went about their day.
What is our answer?
Every day we wake up to more dead Americans, we wake up to thoughts
and prayers, and we wake up to a refusal to act.
Is this the God-given freedom endowed by our creator--the freedom to
go about our day and be gunned down in our malls, in our churches, and
in our schools?
Horrifically, first responders are finding little girls without faces
in their first grade classrooms.
Children are now orphans, wives are widows, and communities are
simply being ripped apart.
{time} 2120
Thoughts and prayers, that is not stopping this carnage, this crisis,
this ugly, horrific public health crisis. If thoughts and prayers are
all that we have to offer survivors like myself and all the survivors
that we continue to see day in and day out in this country, I tell you
this: Faith without works is dead; our prayers without action are
hollow.
God has given us the path to action. He has given us the tools to dam
this river of despair that the American people are living in every
single day of their lives. It is commonsense solutions that save lives;
it is background checks; it is red flag laws; and it is banning assault
weapons.
How long are we going to simply stand here and do nothing? How long?
How long do we stand in the silence? How long do we listen to the cries
of mothers like me that have lost our children and our loved ones to
unnecessary gun violence?
This Nation is under siege, and we are simply without the courage to
act, the courage to pass laws that the majority of the American people
support, they are crying out for, they are begging this body to pass. I
and hundreds of thousands of people like me are terrified that this
carnage is going to continue.
My son was murdered by a man who never should have had a gun. These
children and these families were murdered by those who never should
have ever had access to these weapons of war. The life of my son and
all those that we have lost were endowed by our Creator. My son's life
was stolen from him. These children, these families had a God-given
right to live free from this violence, and it was taken from them.
God has called on each and every one of us in this body to act. Only
we can stop this. That truth is self-evident.
We can keep guns out of the hands of those who shouldn't have them,
and we
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can feel safe in our communities, free from the terror of gun violence,
free from the grief and the heartbreak that our families and our
communities live with every single day. We should be free to live our
lives the way God intended us to live.
Mr. Speaker, I have been a part of this body, a Member of this body
for 5 years now, and I have lost count of the times I have come down
here and begged my Republican colleagues to act, to put public safety
over their love of guns. The sad thing about it is I know deep in my
spirit and my soul that this will not be the last time that I have to
come down here and beg again.
Mrs. CHERFILUS-McCORMICK. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman
from California (Ms. Kamlager-Dove).
Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to discuss the
terrifying regularity of gun violence across this country.
The tragic shooting in Allen, Texas, is part of a near-daily pattern
of gun-related tragedies in America. This year alone, there have been
almost 200 mass shootings in our country, more mass shootings than we
have had days in the year.
I feel for the Allen, Texas, community and empathize with the pain
that too many American families understand. I also feel for the
survivors of gun violence that have to relive their own trauma every
time another shooting occurs and watch as Republicans fail to act. Over
4,800 lives have been lost at the hands of gun violence this year. It
is sickening because it is stone-cold preventable.
Every time a shooting rips apart a community, all we can offer are
thoughts and prayers with hollow solutions that only kick the can down
the road. No more thoughts. No more prayers. Action.
No, this is not God's divine order. This is Republicans too cowardly
to stand up and solve the damn problem. We have got to talk about guns.
We have got to talk about guns. We have got to talk about guns.
Unfettered access to guns, compounded with other challenges, is what
creates these horrific scenes of death and devastation.
Republicans must gather the courage to work with us and make our
streets safer instead of hiding behind antiquated interpretations of
the Second Amendment because the majority of Americans want gun reform
legislation because they want to live.
Democrats have come together to offer a ban on assault weapons that
Republicans have yet to bring to the floor or even consider. AR-15s
shred anything in their wake. They are not used by hunters. They were
designed to be used by snipers.
Last Congress, Democrats and Republicans passed the Bipartisan Safer
Communities Act. This legislation supports red flag laws, enhances
background checks for those under 21, cracks down on gun trafficking,
disarms convicted domestic abusers, invests in violence prevention
violence and mental health initiatives, and funds school safety
programs. President Biden signed this valuable legislation into law,
but it is not enough to save the lives of our children. We can and
should be doing more.
The House Republican majority is playing games, wasting precious time
bringing legislation to the floor that has no chance of being signed
into law. If they cared about the life of every child, then they should
deal with the public health epidemic of gun violence because everyone's
child is worth a life.
We need an assault weapons ban, stronger background checks on gun
ownership, gun storage. It must be stated that instead of working on
these policies, some Republicans choose to inflame our gun violence
epidemic with toxic, racist, or bigoted rhetoric.
{time} 2130
The Allen, Texas, shooter reportedly espoused white supremacist
ideology before his attack. The shooter had a fascination with mass
shootings and fascism. If you are amplifying hate, if you are
amplifying xenophobia, then you are complicit in these deaths.
Stop, for example, saying that white nationalists and white
supremacists need mental health services while making racist comments
about gun violence in Black and Brown communities or saying that those
neighborhoods are worse than war zones, as the former President has
repeatedly done, because everyone's child is worthy of life.
We must come to the table on gun violence to save our communities.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.
Mrs. CHERFILUS-McCORMICK. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my
time.
Mr. JACKSON of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I rise today, from the 1st
Congressional District of the Great State of Illinois, to include in
the Record a letter signed by over 650 faith leaders urging President
Biden to declare Mother's Day as a National Day of Prayer, Mourning,
Repentance, and Contemplation To End Gun Violence.
Over 650 Faith Leaders Call for Mother's Day To Be Declared a National
Day of Prayer, Mourning, Repentance, and Contemplation, To End Gun
Violence
Dear President Biden: The epidemic of gun violence has
become so dire that nearly 1 in 5 adults in the United States
have lost a family member to a gun death. Mass shootings have
escalated so much in recent years (23% since the start of the
COVID-19 pandemic began) that as of April 12, there have
already been at least 147 mass shootings so far this year. It
is a war taking place in our schools, houses of worship,
supermarkets, movie theatres, homes, businesses nightclubs,
and more. While some may throw up their arms and say that
this is a battle too large to win, we, an interfaith
coalition, made up of Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus,
Buddhists, and other faith traditions, remember the miracles
of ancient times and remain optimistic that this scourge can
be overcome.
Do we really believe as a nation that the second amendment
and the profits of those who manufacture AR-15-style assault
rifles, Hellfire missiles, and other instruments of death
should take primacy over our rights to life, liberty, and the
pursuit of happiness?
We thank you for having last year pushed through Congress
the first major gun violence protection legislation in 30
years, for highlighting the issue during this year's State of
the Union, and the executive order you issued last month.
Given the gravity and urgency of this issue, we ask for
more. We appeal to you to declare this Mother's Day, Sunday,
May 14, 2023, to be a national day of repentance, mourning,
prayer, and reflection to address the culture of gun violence
that is staining our collective soul.
We ask for our lawmakers and faith institutions to reflect
this Mother's Day on how we are allowing gun manufacturers,
the gun lobby, and a culture of gun worship to hold our
country hostage.
Mary, a role model for motherhood, stood at the foot of the
cross witnessing brutality, inhumanity, and death being
inflicted on her child. Today we are all parents looking on
as the brutality and death from another mass shooting is
inflicted on our children. At the same time, we are painfully
aware that gun violence is a racial justice issue. Black
Americans are twice as likely as white Americans to die from
gun violence.
Esther was counseled by her uncle Mordecai that she was
born for such a time as this. For her to go to the King and
expose the plots designed to steal the lives of young and old
alike. In that same vein, your administration has come into
office for such a time as this. Will you squander the demand
of this historical time, or go like Esther into the fury to
save lives and people?
The Holy Quran, Surah 5 verse 32, teaches: ``Whoever kills
one person, it is as if they killed all of humanity.'' The
various holy books teach us that ``to save a life is to save
the world entire.'' We are responsible to one another and
responsible to all life.
As faith leaders, we call on you, and on our communities,
to manifest our prayers and create a new covenant--a
reclaiming of the name of G-d--committed to honoring and
saving lives. We must pray together, not only with our words,
but with our feet, and take action, like Esther did, in such
a time as this!
In memory of the lives lost in Nashville--Evelyn Diekhaus
(9), William Kinney (9), Hallie Scruggs (9), Mike Hill (61),
Katherine Koonce (60), Cynthia Peak (61), the lives lost in
the Kentucky bank shooting on April 10, and the rest of the
nearly 50,000 people that die every year in the United States
from guns, we ask you to declare Mother's Day 2023 a national
day to end gun violence and heal our country.
Sincerely,
Over 650 faith leaders including Rev. Jesse Jackson; Bp.
Vashti Murphy McKenzie, Interim President & General
Secretary, National Council of Churches of Christ, USA; Dr.
Cornel West; Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis, Executive Director of
the Kairos Center for Religions, Rights, and Social Justice;
Rev. Wesley Granberg-Michaelson, General Secretary Emeritus,
Reformed Church in America; Rabbi Jill Jacobs, C.E.O.,
T'ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights; Rabbi Jonah
Pesner, Executive Director, Religious Action Center of Reform
Judaism; Dr. Shane Claiborne, Red Letter Christians; Rev.
Hope Christensen, Co-Chair of Faith Leaders for Ending Gun
Violence; Rev. Adam Russell Taylor, President, Sojourners;
Rev. Jim Wallis, Archbishop Desmond Tutu Chair, Center on
Faith & Justice, Georgetown University; Dr. Daisy Khan,
Executive Director, Women's Islamic Initiative in
Spirituality and
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Equality (WISE); Dr. Tarunjit Singh Butalia, Executive
Director, Religions for Peace USA; Rev. Dr. John C. Dorhauer,
General Minister and President, United Church of Christ; Rev.
Dr. Susan Frederick-Gray, President, Unitarian Universalist
Association; Rev. Dr. Emma Jordan-Simpson, President, Auburn
Seminary; Rev. Dr. Serene Jones, President, Union Theological
Seminary.
____________________