[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 7]
[House]
[Page 8781]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  WE NEED MOMENTS OF SUSTAINED ACTION

  (Mr. CICILLINE asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mr. CICILLINE. Mr. Speaker, the murder of 49 innocent people at the 
Pulse nightclub in Orlando last Sunday once again demonstrates the 
urgency of addressing gun violence in this country.
  While I appreciate the moment of silence we observed earlier this 
week, what we really need are moments of sustained action to ensure 
that this never happens again.
  We should immediately close the terror gap so individuals on the 
terrorist watch list cannot legally purchase a gun. If you are too 
dangerous to get on an airplane, you are too dangerous to own a gun.
  We should move quickly to prohibit the sale and possession of weapons 
of war, like the assault rifle that the Orlando gunman used.
  We should also close the hate crimes loophole so that anyone 
convicted of a hate crime is prohibited from buying or owning a gun.
  We should close the Charleston loophole so gun sales cannot go 
forward until a background check is completed.
  These are commonsense measures that would immediately reduce the 
incidence of gun violence in this country.
  It is on all of us, as the people's elected representatives, to take 
action today. Choosing to do nothing is an insult to the victims of 
these attacks and a danger to the safety of those we represent. There 
is no more solemn responsibility that we have than to protect the 
people we represent.
  Let's get to work.

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