[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 7]
[Senate]
[Pages 9367-9368]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              GUN VIOLENCE

  Mr. COONS. Mr. President, I am coming to the floor today to join so 
many of my colleagues who have spoken over the last day to encourage 
bipartisan cooperation on commonsense legislation to address the gun 
violence epidemic that plagues our Nation and my home State of 
Delaware. I want to thank my colleagues, Senators Murphy and 
Blumenthal, for their consistent and unwavering commitment in 
addressing this very real national crisis.
  In the aftermath of the tragic mass shooting of Orlando, I have been 
filled with many emotions, as have so many of my colleagues--grief for 
the victims and their families, concern for the city of Orlando, grief 
for the greater LGBTQ community across our Nation and world, anger 
toward the perpetrator and the extremists who spread hatred, violence, 
and fear around the world, and a powerful, deep-seated frustration that 
our government, our Congress, this Senate, has not taken needed steps 
to keep dangerous and unstable individuals from getting access to guns. 
The atrocity that took place at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, FL, was 
more than just a cowardly act of terrorism and a despicable, violent 
rampage of hate against our LGBTQ brothers and sisters; it was also an 
attack on the very freedoms in our way of life. From the brave first 
responders and law enforcement officers who rushed to the scene, to the 
hundreds, even thousands, of Floridians who lined up in the days since 
to donate blood, tragedies like these so often showcase the very best 
and worst of humanity in the same heartbreaking moment.
  This mass shooting--the worst mass shooting in American history--
should force us to confront a number of powerful but unanswered 
questions: Are we going to be a nation that celebrates our diversity or 
one that stokes fear, division, and hatred? Are we going to engage the 
American Muslim community in pursuing our shared goal of defeating the 
scourge of terrorism, or are we going to malign and alienate 1.6 
billion people from one of the world's great religions? Are we together 
going to pass commonsense safety measures

[[Page 9368]]

addressing gun violence, or is this Senate, yet again, going to accept 
the status quo?
  Our Nation, my State, my constituents, my neighbors, are crying out 
for the Members of this body to have the courage of our convictions and 
to address this moment. Regardless of the Orlando attacker's intentions 
or his background, Congress must act to prevent known or suspected 
terrorists from having the unfettered ability to purchase high-powered 
military grade weaponry. That means ensuring that we have a universal 
system of background checks when a firearm is purchased. It also means 
ensuring that the U.S. Department of Justice gets notified when a known 
or suspected terrorist goes to buy a gun so that the Department can 
investigate or stop a transaction that might immediately endanger 
citizens' lives.
  Today an estimated 40 percent of all gun sales are sold by unlicensed 
dealers who are not required to conduct any criminal background checks 
under Federal law. In the aftermath of the atrocity in Orlando, Deputy 
Attorney General Yates noted that the Justice Department ``would have 
liked to have known'' that Omar Mateen had gone to purchase an assault 
rifle.
  Our Constitution protects the fundamental individual right to bear 
arms, but no freedom is absolute, and no one amendment can subvert all 
the others. Orlando deserved to have the security of a functioning 
universal background check system that keeps guns out of the hands of 
people known to be dangerous. So, too, do the people of my hometown of 
Wilmington.
  Earlier this week, late Tuesday night, in my hometown of Wilmington, 
less than a block away from a business owned by one of my treasured 
staff members, four young teenagers, ages 12, 13, 15, and 16, were 
shot. The 15-year-old boy remains in critical condition in Christiana 
Hospital. He was shot in the stomach, hand, and leg.
  Earlier this week in Wilmington, a 15-year-old girl was shot during 
an argument at a party. There have been so many instances of gun 
violence on the streets of my hometown in the weeks and months of this 
year, last year, and the year before that we have become numb to it. We 
have almost lost count of them. Yet this daily carnage continues in my 
hometown and in towns all across this country.
  Orlando deserves the amount of attention it has received as one of 
the worst mass American atrocities occurring in history. Yet we cannot 
forget the week-in and week-out tragedies where one, two, and three 
individuals are shot in what now seems to be, sadly, routine gun 
violence all across this country.
  We have heard in speeches given by my colleagues about incidents all 
over our country. From Orlando to San Bernardino to Newtown, from 
Wilmington to Chicago to Los Angeles, Americans fall victim to gun 
violence each and every day. It doesn't have to be this way.
  Americans are 25 times more likely to be murdered with a gun than 
people in any other developed country. We can and we must do more to 
prevent senseless acts of gun violence.
  So today, this week, we mourn the lives taken from us too soon in 
Orlando, and I mourn and many of my neighbors and constituents mourn 
the lives lost in Wilmington. But we all pray that the families and 
friends grieving the loss of their loved ones will find strength and 
purpose in the days to come and will bring encouragement from actions 
by this Senate.
  Tragedies like these don't just draw our attention, don't just hold 
our gaze, and don't just break our hearts; they also challenge our 
values as a nation. In response to the atrocities in Orlando, America's 
message to the world must not be one of fear and anger and isolation as 
some propose. Instead, I think we can and should take action to protect 
all of our citizens of any ethnicity, any faith, and any sexual 
orientation with commonsense gun legislation. I am encouraged to know 
there have been filed bills that this body will take up and act upon 
next week and that my colleagues, Senators Murphy and Feinstein, have 
been able to submit for consideration by this body--bills relating to 
background checks and to closing the terror gap that I look forward to 
supporting next week when we return.
  I would like to thank all of my colleagues of both parties who have 
advanced proposals or have come to the floor to participate in an 
important effort to show the people across the country that we can work 
across the aisle, that we can listen to each other, and that we can, I 
hope, legislate.
  I specifically thank my colleague Senator Murphy for his discipline, 
his engagement, and his work in an important filibuster to show the 
people of our country that we are listening, we are paying attention, 
we are working, and we will soon take action.
  With that, I thank the Presiding Officer.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. SASSE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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