[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 123 (Tuesday, July 18, 2023)]
[House]
[Page H3686]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              GUN VIOLENCE

  (Ms. JACOBS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Ms. JACOBS. Mr. Speaker, gun violence is the number one killer of 
kids and teens in America.
  For so many problems facing our country, we don't know what to do, we 
don't know exactly how to fix it. Gun violence is different. We know 
what to do, but Republicans lack the backbone to do it, and, frankly, 
their justifications why aren't good enough.
  Bucking your party, alienating the NRA, or potentially risking your 
seat is worth it to save lives.
  We can save lives by reinstating the Federal Assault Weapons Ban. The 
1994 ban that was implemented when I was only 5 years old decreased gun 
massacres by 37 percent, and when that ban expired, gun massacres rose 
by 183 percent.
  Reinstating this ban would prevent parents from having to say their 
final good-byes to their children. It would prevent the trauma we 
knowingly pass on to future generations. It would prevent the never-
ending what-ifs, if-onlys, and what-could-have-beens when thinking 
about the loved ones we have lost.
  I urge my colleagues to do the right thing and reinstate the Federal 
Assault Weapons Ban.

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