[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 87 (Tuesday, May 23, 2023)]
[House]
[Page H2506]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      TAKE ACTION ON GUN VIOLENCE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Massachusetts (Mrs. Trahan) for 5 minutes.
  Mrs. TRAHAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to remind Members of this 
Chamber what happened just 2 weeks ago in Allen, Texas.
  Eight people were senselessly murdered by an extremist armed with an 
assault rifle--a 3-year-old boy and his mom and dad, who left behind a 
6-year-old orphan who survived the mass shooting.
  Two young sisters, one in the fourth grade and the other in the 
second grade, who were described as rays of sunshine, and three young 
adults each had their entire life ahead of them. All of them were 
simply minding their own business at the outlets on a Saturday, not 
knowing it would be their last day.
  The news cycle may have changed--something many in this Chamber were 
waiting for--but each of these victims leaves behind loved ones who are 
still mourning an unimaginable loss.
  Each of these victims, like every victim of a mass shooting before 
them, deserved better. They deserved real action that could have 
prevented a person deemed unfit to serve in the United States Army from 
accessing an assault weapon that he used to kill them.
  They deserve better than their Member of Congress going on national 
television that same day and saying that thoughts and prayers are 
enough to stop gun violence and that if you disagree, then you don't 
believe in an Almighty God.
  They certainly deserve better than platitudes from a Governor more 
concerned about his grade on the NRA scorecard than the number of 
victims of mass shootings in his State.
  Mr. Speaker, I stood here at this podium 3 weeks ago after three 9-
year-old children and two teachers were murdered in their classrooms in 
Nashville. I pleaded with the Republican majority to bring legislation 
to the floor to prevent another mass shooting.
  I listed bills we could have considered: the assault weapons ban to 
get weapons of war, the gun of choice for mass shooters, off our 
streets; the Bipartisan Background Checks Act to make sure guns aren't 
falling into the hands of individuals who shouldn't have them; and the 
Enhanced Background Checks Act to ensure that a full background check 
is actually completed before the firearm sale is processed.
  Yet, here we are, 17 days since Allen, Texas, 57 days since The 
Covenant School, and 1 day before the first anniversary of the massacre 
in Uvalde, and what are we being forced to vote on this week? A piece 
of legislation that will make it harder to stop air pollution. Are they 
serious? This is a colossal disconnect.
  There is a witness from a shooting just 2 weeks ago who talked about 
how he went to help a little girl whom he thought was hiding, and when 
he went to check on her, she didn't have a face after being shot with 
an AR-15-style assault weapon.
  We can't even get a vote on whether these guns should be available. 
It is no wonder people think Congress is out of touch.
  The United States is the only developed nation in the world where 
this kind of thing keeps happening again and again. We are the only 
country where mass shootings are so common that we have PSAs so people 
know what to do and where my girls' school day is interrupted on a 
regular basis to practice an active shooter drill.
  It is shameful, infuriating, and embarrassing. This Chamber should be 
embarrassed that another mass shooting has disappeared from the news 
without a shred of action.

                          ____________________