[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 5072]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                               GUN SAFETY

  (Mr. LANGEVIN asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. LANGEVIN. Mr. Speaker, I am encouraged by the clear bipartisan 
support in the Senate for a full and fair debate on meaningful ways to 
reduce gun violence in our country.
  Having experienced a gun accident myself that left me paralyzed more 
than 30 years ago, I know firsthand that the answer to keeping people, 
especially our children, safe is not having more guns around our kids 
and our communities as the gun lobby has proposed.
  I am hopeful that the Senate has heard the public outcry for real 
change with 90 percent of Americans favoring the basic step of 
universal background checks.
  Forty percent of the gun sales in America occur at gun shows that 
require no background check at all. Let's close the gun show loophole 
and ensure that whenever a gun is bought or sold in this country, that 
there's a background check so we keep the guns out of the hands of 
criminals or those who have mental illness that is so severe that they 
would be a danger to themselves or their community.
  As the Senate moves forward, I continue to urge Speaker Boehner to 
stop delaying full debate on the House floor on responsible gun safety 
legislation. The House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force has put 
forward a comprehensive set of proposals, and I welcome ideas from both 
parties.
  What is inexcusable in the wake of so many gun tragedies is inaction. 
We cannot sit back and wait any longer.

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