[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 6]
[House]
[Page 8696]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1215
                     IT IS TIME FOR CONGRESS TO ACT

  (Mrs. LAWRENCE asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mrs. LAWRENCE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today for a call to action. Over 
200 years ago, when our Constitution was authored, it ignored the 
backbone of the American people: women, African Americans, Latinos, and 
even White men who did not own property.
  However, the beauty of our Constitution and our democracy is our 
ability to change. The power to amend the United States Constitution is 
the power to protect and reflect the will of the people.
  Our forefathers could not anticipate the introduction of assault 
rifles into the United States. They could not anticipate that 32,000 
Americans per year would lose their lives at the hands of gun violence.
  It is now time to act, to do the job that we were elected to do by 
the people of this great Nation. Since its inception, we have amended 
our Constitution 27 times. It is time for us once again to lead the 
world and put an end to these horrendous attacks and violence that we 
have witnessed. Mr. Speaker, it is time for Congress to act.

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