[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

[[Page H2166]]

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

[[Page H2167]]

     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.

                          ____________________