[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 5036]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




         PREVENT DANGEROUS GUNS FROM REACHING DANGEROUS PEOPLE

  (Mr. GALLEGO asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. GALLEGO. Mr. Speaker, today, in America, 48 children and young 
people will be shot, and seven will die. Today, in America, 45 people 
will be injured in gun-related accidents, and 55 will take their own 
lives with guns. Yet, today, in America, zero new Federal gun laws will 
be debated here in this body.
  This is unacceptable.
  Yet we know smart gun laws work. We know background checks keep guns 
out of the hands of terrorists, criminals, and the mentally ill. We 
know banning assault rifles and high-capacity magazines protects police 
officers and the communities they serve.
  Mr. Speaker, after the Newtown shootings claimed the lives of 20 
innocent children, President Obama asked the Nation whether we were 
prepared to admit that we are powerless in the face of the carnage 
caused by guns. That is not an admission I am ready to make. This isn't 
a problem we can ignore.
  Mr. Speaker, instead of politics as usual, let's come together to 
prevent dangerous guns from reaching dangerous people.

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