[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 201 (Wednesday, December 6, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5772-S5773]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                    Unanimous Consent Request--S. 25

  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, as in legislative session, I ask 
unanimous consent that the Judiciary Committee be discharged from 
further consideration of S. 25 and the Senate proceed to its immediate 
consideration. I further ask consent that the bill be considered read a 
third time and passed and the motion to reconsider be considered made 
and laid upon the table.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Is there objection?
  The Senator from Wyoming.
  Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, reserving the right to object, Americans 
have a constitutional right to own a firearm. Every day people across 
Wyoming responsibly use their Second Amendment rights to keep and to 
bear arms. Today is about defending those rights against those on the 
other side of the aisle who wish to take them away from us.
  Democrats are demanding that the American people give up their 
liberty. The Democrat legislation takes away a right, and it does not 
provide Americans security. Democrats want Washington to ban rifles and 
pistols because of the way they look. To do this, they describe 
semiautomatic rifles as assault rifles. They aren't. Any farmer, 
rancher, or outdoorsman in Wyoming can tell you. These rifles work the 
same way as popular shotguns and other rifles used for hunting and for 
personal protection. Instead of facing these facts, Democrats stick to 
demonizing rifles and disrespecting gun owners.
  Democrat's ban on assault weapons is an assault on lawful gun owners. 
There is a contradiction at the center of the gun control debate. 
Democrats want to enact new laws on law-abiding citizens. At the same 
time, they ignore the lawbreakers. Almost every single page of the bill 
that is in front of us today adds new restrictions and new burdens on 
people who follow the law. It tells what you can buy, what you can't 
buy. It bans more than 205 rifles, shotguns, and pistols by name.
  Republicans reject these unjustified and unconstitutional 
restrictions. Democrat's bumper-sticker solution to ban guns is not 
about safety; it is about restricting lawful gun ownership. It is about 
trying to label responsible gun owners as criminals. Democrats are the 
party of defunding the police and disarming the American people.
  None of this makes our streets safer. None of this slows the 
crimewave in America. None of this solves the mental health crisis in 
our country. The focus should be on mental health, on school safety, 
and stricter enforcement of current laws. We want Americans to be safe 
in their communities, their homes, and their schools.
  The legislation that the majority leader is proposing that is before 
us today goes way beyond that. I oppose any policies that jeopardize 
the Second Amendment rights of the people of Wyoming and people across 
this country. The Second Amendment is freedom's essential safeguard. 
Without it, there can be no liberty, and there can be no security.
  So, Mr. President, I object.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The majority leader.
  Mr. SCHUMER. I know that the Senator from Alabama wants to speak. 
Could I ask the Senator from Alabama how long he wants to speak for?
  Mr. TUBERVILLE. Ten minutes.
  Mr. SCHUMER. Well, we want to all speak seriatim, and I thought I was 
going to speak before this.
  Mr. TUBERVILLE. I yield.
  Mr. SCHUMER. Would the Senator yield also to Senator Durbin after me; 
is that all right?
  Mr. TUBERVILLE. I yield.
  Mr. SCHUMER. Thank you.
  Mr. President, I just heard, unfortunately, our Senator from Wyoming 
object. Here are the facts: The scourge of gun violence in America is a 
national crisis. The American people are sick and tired of enduring one 
mass shooting after another. They are sick and tired of vigils and 
moments of silence for family, friends, classmates, coworkers.
  Today, Democrats move to pass the assault weapons ban to help rid our 
streets of these deadly weapons. I want to thank my colleagues who 
support this measure, particularly Senator Durbin, chairman of the 
Judiciary Committee, as well as Senators Murphy and Blumenthal and 
Warnock, who organized today's efforts with me.
  We already have a decade's worth of proof that a ban on military-
style assault works and saves lives, plain and simple. After I led the 
passage of the assault weapons ban--I carried the bill in the House as 
a Congressman, alongside our late colleague Senator Feinstein, who 
carried it in the Senate. What happened? America saw a significant 
decrease in mass shootings and in gun deaths--a decrease.
  Unsurprisingly, when that ban lapsed, there was a sudden and dramatic 
spike in mass shootings and deaths from those shootings. We must change 
that. We still feel the unquenchable suffering of the families of Sandy 
Hook, where 11 years ago next week 26 innocent lives were cut short by 
an automatic weapon. I still see the pictures of those little children, 
and I still remember--because I speak to them fairly recently--the 
parents who have a hole in their hearts forever because some madman 
with an assault weapon was able to kill 26 of them, one after the 
other.
  We still feel the agony of places like Buffalo, where a year-and-a-
half ago a gunman murdered 10 people in cold blood at a Tops grocery 
store. I was at that grocery store a few days later. I still feel their 
pain. We feel the pain of Uvalde, Las Vegas, El Paso. The list sadly 
goes on and on and on.
  And we also take action today because of tragedies like the Long 
Island Rail Road massacre that happened 30 years ago tomorrow in my own 
backyard, the innocent people who lost their lives at the Maryland 
train station. It was the 533 train filled with commuters heading home 
from work--so many injured, six killed. My heart still sinks. And I 
will never forget hearing that news, the river of blood in the aisles 
of the commuter railroad train, just horrible.
  By passing the assault weapons ban today, we can help save lives, get 
these weapons off our streets, and prevent future tragedies. So today 
Republicans face a choice, as they do every day. We want to say to our 
Republican friends: Stand with families fearing for their lives or 
stand with the gun lobby and block this assault weapons ban.
  Just look at what happened the last time both sides worked together 
on commonsense gun safety measures. We did something many believed to 
be impossible. Under the leadership of Senator Murphy, Senator Durbin, 
Senator

[[Page S5773]]

Blumenthal, and so many others, we passed the first major gun safety 
bill in three decades. While this bill was a long-overdue step in the 
right direction, we have to do a lot more.
  Today, we have an opportunity to come together and pass another 
lifesaving measure.
  I yield to the Senator from Illinois, Mr. Durbin, the chair of the 
Judiciary Committee.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I thank Senator Schumer for his remarks.
  Imagine, if you will a family event that you look forward to each 
year. That was the Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, IL.
  Highland Park, a leafy suburb of Chicago, is a wonderful community, 
truly a community. And every year on the Fourth of July, families ask 
their sons and daughters to put on that patriotic T-shirt, carry the 
little flag, stand out and enjoy this commemoration of the birth of the 
United States of America.
  Well, a little over a year ago, that Fourth of July parade became a 
terrible day for so many families.
  Last year, in Highland Park, IL, a shooter on a rooftop, with an 
assault rifle, was able to fire 83 rounds in 60 seconds--83 rounds in 
60 seconds--killing 7 and wounding dozens before law enforcement could 
even identify where he was. One of those was a little 8-year-old boy, a 
twin, who will be unfortunately disabled for the rest of his life 
because of the injuries that he sustained.
  This mass shooting in my home State of Illinois was one of hundreds 
across America last year. Since 2020, the United States has suffered 
from over 600 mass shootings every year, almost 2 a day.
  I ask those who are listening to my remarks to reflect on one fact: 
There is no other country on Earth not engaged in active war where this 
type of killing occurs on a daily basis.
  In Highland Park and in communities across America, shooters have 
used military-style assault weapons to cause irreversible harm in just 
a matter of minutes.
  I listened to my friend from Wyoming object to the effort to bring 
this legislation to the floor and cite the fact that we were being 
disrespectful to gun owners. He made reference to ranchers and farmers 
in his State and how it is important for them to have firearms. I don't 
quarrel with that, but I do have to ask, in all seriousness: 83 rounds 
in 60 seconds? That is what a farmer needs? That is what a rancher 
needs? I think not. This is a military weapon designed to kill people. 
That is it. It is designed to kill massive numbers of people. I don't 
think that is part of farming or ranching in modern America.
  Already this year, there have been 627 mass shootings, including the 
October 25 attack in Lewiston, ME, where a gunman opened fire and 
killed 18 people. Literally, the entire State of Maine was on alert, 
wondering if this shooter would have another victim.
  Americans are rightfully afraid when they see their friends and 
neighbors killed in schools, in places of worship, in bowling alleys, 
at work, at the mall, at grocery stores. People are asking: What is 
safe? Mothers and fathers are asking: Is it safe to send our children 
to school?
  Is it safe to send their children to school?
  What can we do to stop this madness? It is madness. Firearms are now 
the leading cause of death of children in the United States. Firearms--
the leading cause of death of children in the United States of America.
  Mass shootings with assault weapons are a uniquely American 
phenomenon. Continuing to allow firearms meant for war to be used on 
the streets is disgraceful.
  Last year, Congress took critical steps on gun safety reform with the 
Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, but we must do more. When a shooter 
is armed with an assault weapon, the number of deaths in a mass 
shooting is, on average, twice as high. If we can prevent that many 
deaths when these tragedies strike by passing an assault weapons ban, 
what are we waiting for?
  Finally, I would like to take a moment to talk about my former 
colleague and true trailblazer, the late Senator Dianne Feinstein, 
whose voice and leadership in this fight is an inspiration to us all.
  Senator Feinstein experienced the devastation of gun violence 
firsthand the day that George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk were 
gunned down in the San Francisco City Hall. That was carved into her 
memory and inspired her response.
  In 1994, an assault weapons ban was passed and considered a major 
step forward. Senator Feinstein's work in the Senate and then 
Congressman Chuck Schumer's work in the House made it a reality. 
Congress failed to reauthorize this critical legislation--a big 
mistake.
  Today, we can honor Senator Feinstein's legacy with the lives we will 
save by bringing forward this bill. After Highland Park, I said that I 
hope, for our children's sake, we don't run away from the problem. That 
community and so many others are counting on us to stand up and face 
this issue head on. I urge my colleagues to unite and do what is right 
for the safety of the American people. Let's pass the assault weapons 
ban.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Hickenlooper). The Senator from Alabama.