[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 201 (Wednesday, December 6, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Page S5775]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                          Assault Weapons Ban

  Right now, Mr. President, we are seeing one of the deadliest years of 
gun violence in recent history. There have been more than 600 mass 
shootings since the beginning of this year alone. That is nearly two 
mass shootings a day. And assault weapons have become the firearm of 
choice in more and more mass shootings over the decades. Assault 
weapons kill with deadly efficiency. When an assault weapon is used in 
a shooting, more than double the number of people on average are shot 
and more than 50 percent are killed.
  Let me be clear: These military-style assault weapons are weapons of 
war, and they have no place in our communities. Our kids are growing up 
seeing military rifles in civilian hands on the streets and in their 
classrooms. Since 2011, the rate of children dying from firearms has 
skyrocketed by nearly 90 percent.
  Enough is enough. It has never been more obvious that Congress needs 
to ban assault weapons. This isn't some farfetched idea. We have tried 
it. Senator Dianne Feinstein championed an assault weapons ban, and she 
got it passed into law. It was in place for a full decade--from 1994 to 
2004--and it worked. Researchers from Quinnipiac University, from the 
NYU School of Medicine, and more have found that, while the ban was in 
place, there was a meaningful reduction in the number of mass 
shootings. But the law sunsetted in 2004; and in the following two 
decades, there have been more and more and more mass shootings.
  Today, we must act to reinstate a national ban on assault weapons. It 
is hard to overstate the urgency of this issue. From Sandy Hook to 
Parkland and from Orlando to Uvalde, these horrific mass shootings all 
involved an assault weapon. This fall shooting in Lewiston, ME, also 
involved a powerful assault rifle and was the deadliest shooting of 
this year.
  After each of these tragedies, Americans ask: What will it take for 
Congress to act? How many more communities and how many more families 
will lose loved ones before the laws are changed?
  We mourn the individuals lost to gun violence. We mourn the families 
left behind when a beloved son or daughter or mom or dad is cut down by 
gun violence, and we mourn the communities torn apart by gun violence. 
But they don't need our thoughts and prayers nearly as much as they 
need Congress to do its job and take action.
  We have shown we can act in moments of crisis. Last year, after 21 
children and teachers were killed in Uvalde, we passed the Bipartisan 
Safer Communities Act. That was the most sweeping gun violence 
prevention legislation in nearly 30 years, but it didn't go far enough. 
This is another moment of crisis. Today, we have another chance, with 
this vote, to make it easier for Americans to move through their daily 
lives without fear of being gunned down by weapons of war.
  I urge Congress to reinstate the assault weapons ban that Senator 
Feinstein secured 30 years ago and that would help save lives today.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Minnesota.