[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 4]
[SENAT]
[Pages 4754-4755]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           RIDING FOR CHANGE

  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, last month a group of 26 cyclists set off 
on a 3-day, 400 mile journey from Newtown, CT, to the steps of our 
Nation's Capitol. They began their ride with a stop at Sandy Hook 
Elementary School, a place that should be synonymous with childhood, 
innocence, and learning. Instead, for now, it reminds us of tragedy. 
The cyclists left Newtown that morning to bring Washington a simple 
message: It is time for Congress to finally take steps to stop gun 
violence.
  These riders were not special interest groups or highly paid 
lobbyists. They were everyday people--teachers, police officers, 
librarians, healthcare professionals. People like Heather Peck, a 
school psychologist and mother of two from Newtown, who wrote that she 
was riding ``for those beautiful smiling faces that I see coming down 
the hallway each day and their right to feel safe and secure at 
school.'' Like Gary Lyke of Brookfield, CT, a Vietnam veteran who wrote 
that he was riding ``in the hope I can help encourage our leaders to 
join in creating meaningful, common sense laws making it safe for 
children to grow and inherit the freedoms I and other veterans served 
for.'' Like Officer Jeff Silver of the Newtown Department of Police 
Services, who wrote simply, ``I ride for commonsense gun control 
laws.''
  But sadly, in a Nation where polls have shown that a majority of 
Americans support background checks for all gun sales, the status quo 
defies common sense. Around our country today, anyone, including 
convicted felons or domestic abusers or the mentally ill, can go to a 
gun show and purchase a firearm without having to pass any sort of 
background check. Studies have estimated that 40 percent of U.S. gun 
sales are conducted by unlicensed sellers without background checks. In 
2012, an estimated 6.6 million guns were sold in this way, no questions 
asked.
  Likewise, in a Nation where studies have shown that mass shootings 
involving assault weapons result in an average of 14.8 people shot. It 
is startling that almost anyone can walk into a shop or gun show and 
purchase the same type of military-style assault rifle that was used at 
Sandy Hook Elementary that horrible day. This includes suspected 
terrorists, because nothing in current law prohibits individuals on 
terrorist watch lists from purchasing firearms, unless they fall into 
another disqualifying category. Polls have shown that 63 percent of 
Americans support a ban on the assault weapons and high-capacity 
ammunition magazines that lead to such horrific crimes.
  Legislation has already been introduced into the Senate that, if 
enacted, would make our society and our schools safer. For example, I 
am a cosponsor of the Denying Firearms and Explosives to Dangerous 
Terrorists Act. This bill would close the `terror gap' in Federal law 
by denying the transfer of a firearm when a Federal Bureau of 
Investigation, FBI, background check reveals that the prospective 
purchaser is a suspected terrorist and the Attorney General has a 
reasonable belief that the purchaser may use the firearm in connection 
with terrorism. I am also a cosponsor of the Assault Weapons Ban of 
2013, which would stop the flood of military-style assault weapons into 
our society.

[[Page 4755]]

  We should listen to the Sandy Hook riders and take action. We should 
listen to our law enforcement communities, who have implored us to ban 
the military-style weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines which 
can so easily escalate confrontation into murder and a killing of one 
or two people into a massive slaughter. No law can prevent all 
tragedies, but these bills could help prevent some. They could help 
stop another quiet elementary school from falling victim to a Sandy 
Hook tragedy. They could help save the lives of children. That is more 
than enough reason to act. I urge my colleagues to swiftly take up and 
pass these measures.

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