[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 37 (Thursday, February 29, 2024)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E198-E199]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   CELEBRATING 30 YEARS OF THE BRADY BILL AND BRADY BACKGROUND CHECKS

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 29, 2024

  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in celebration of 30 years 
of Brady Background Checks.
  The landmark Brady Bill, championed by Jim and Sarah Brady, was 
enacted 30 years ago on February 28, 1994.
  This historic legislation established our nation's background check 
system for guns sold at licensed firearms dealers.
  The Brady Bill is named after Reagan White House Press Secretary Jim 
Brady.
  After Jim Brady survived a bullet to the head during the 1981 
assassination attempt of President Reagan, he and his wife, Sarah 
Brady, knew our country urgently needed common-sense solutions to 
prevent guns from falling into the hands of those who intend to cause 
harm.
  Since its enactment, the Brady Bill has blocked almost 4.9 million 
prohibited gun transactions.
  Thirty years later, the Brady Bill continues to save countless lives 
each day because background checks work.
  As we celebrate enduring milestones that have transformed our 
country, I cannot help but remember the lives that have been selfishly 
lost to inaction and negligence.
  So, in addition to celebrating the success of the Brady Bill, I would 
like to take a moment to urge the passage of an additional, necessary 
piece of gun violence prevention legislation--H.R. 52, The Kimberly 
Vaughan Firearm Safe Storage Act.
  This bill was named after Kimberly Vaughan, a 14-year-old girl, who 
was among the ten lives we lost during the devastating Santa Fe High 
School shooting on May 18, 2018.
  H.R. 52 will establish best practices for firearm storage to protect 
children from improperly stored or misused firearms and establish a 
grant program for local government and nonprofits to distribute safe 
storage devices.
  In particular, the Attorney General is directed to establish 
voluntary best practices relating to safe firearm storage and publish 
them on a website and in print.
  Secondly, it will require most weapons to have a clear written notice 
on the packaging that says, ``Safe Storage Saves Lives' and how to 
obtain the best practices established by the Attorney General.
  Additionally, the bill will provide grants to states and local 
governments with a ten-year, $10 million grant program to distribute 
safe storage devices.
  As Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Crime and Federal Government 
Surveillance, member of the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, and co-
founding member of the Children's Caucus, gun violence prevention and 
the protecting of children is deeply important to me.
  And so, in highlighting the importance of passing bills, such as H.R. 
52, we must also reflect and remember the lives of those lost to 
senseless gun violence.
  Kimberly Vaughan loved cats, Harry Potter, and regularly took trips 
to the library.
  She was drawing geometric shapes in her first period art class when 
she was tragically killed by a 17-year-old student who was on a 
shooting rampage.
  That student ultimately massacred 8 students, 2 teachers, and wounded 
13 others at Santa Fe High School in Texas.
  It was the worst school shooting since 17 people were killed at 
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida just two 
months prior.
  The shotgun and the .38 caliber pistol the shooter took to school 
belonged to his father and were available to him at his home.
  Firearm injury is the leading cause of death for children and young 
adults in the United States.
  Although American children are ``twice as likely to be shot and 
killed as they are to die drowning,'' there are more safety regulations 
for pools than gun storage according to a report by Everytown for Gun 
Safety.
  Every year, almost 20,000 children are shot and killed or wounded by 
a firearm, and 3 million are exposed to gun violence.
  One in three U.S. households with children have firearms and firearms 
accounted for nearly 19 percent of childhood deaths in 2021, a 50 
percent increase since 2019.
  On average, 9 minors are killed by improperly stored or misused guns 
every day.
  In my home state of Texas, more than 4,000 Texans are shot and killed 
each year.
  Safe storage practices are critically important to keep firearms away 
from dangerous individuals and to keep children and families safe from 
senseless gun violence.
  In the last decade, nearly 2 million firearms have been reported 
stolen.
  Between 2010 and 2016, police recovered more than 23,000 stolen 
firearms that were used to commit kidnapping, armed robberies, sexual 
assaults, murders, and other violent crimes.
  An estimated 4.6 million minors live in homes with at least one 
unlocked, loaded firearm; on average, 9 children are killed by 
improperly stored or misused guns every day.
  The passage of the Brady Bill reminds us that bold action to prevent 
gun violence is possible.
  Americans should be safe from gun violence in their homes and 
neighborhoods.
  Americans should not be shot at Super Bowl parades.
  Americans should not be shot in their schools.
  Americans should not be shot at their places of worship.

[[Page E199]]

  It is simply unconscionable that guns are now the leading cause of 
death of children and teens in America.
  Just two years ago, I joined Congress in passing the Bipartisan Safer 
Communities Act, the first major gun violence prevention law since the 
Brady Bill.
  Already, this legislation is saving lives, but we need bolder action. 
It is long past the time to do something about the epidemic of gun 
violence in our nation? The nation that prides itself on protecting our 
children and the future generations. If we want to protect Americans, 
we must start by learning how to effectively store guns in the homes 
that choose to have them.
  Americans want more than thoughts and prayers.
  They want action.
  Gun safety is a nonpartisan issue that requires a bipartisan 
solution.
  Over 90 percent of Americans--including Republicans, Democrats, and 
Independents alike--want to expand the Brady Bill and pass universal 
background checks so that we can end the scourge of gun violence.
  A majority of Americans want an assault weapons ban, extreme risk 
laws, and support for community violence intervention.
  Data for Progress finds 49 percent of voters support changing Senate 
rules so Democrats can pass gun control legislation.
  This includes 76 percent of Democrats, 43 percent of Independents, 
and 24 percent of Republicans.
  Put simply, Americans deserve sensible action to end this epidemic.
  The Brady's legacy lives on today in the gun violence prevention 
organization named after them.
  We must remain persistent in the fight for a safer America that is 
free of gun violence.
  I will continue to work with colleagues to end this epidemic.

                          ____________________