[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 7]
[House]
[Pages 9729-9730]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              GUN VIOLENCE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Rhode Island (Mr. Cicilline) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. CICILLINE. Mr. Speaker, the horrific mass shooting that took 
place on June 12 at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, is a stark 
reminder of the urgent responsibility that we have to reduce gun 
violence in this country. This monstrous attack on the LGBT community 
in a place of refuge and empowerment requires us to act.
  The shooter in Orlando used an assault rifle that is virtually 
identical to the ones used by mass killers in San Bernardino, Umpqua 
Community College, Aurora, and Sandy Hook Elementary School. That is no 
coincidence.
  Out of the eight high-profile mass shootings that have taken place in 
the past year, seven involved the use of an

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assault weapon. When an assault weapon is used in a mass shooting, the 
number of people shot increases by 153 percent, and the number of 
people killed increases by 63 percent.
  These are weapons of war that are designed to kill as many people as 
possible as quickly as possible. They belong on a battlefield; they 
don't belong in our communities; and I will continue to fight to 
reinstate the assault weapons ban.
  This morning, I want to use the time that I have to talk about two 
proposals that the Speaker should bring up for immediate vote: no fly, 
no buy, and universal background checks.
  This is really, really simple. If you are too dangerous to fly on an 
airplane, then you are too dangerous to buy a gun. But under the laws 
that we have in place today, someone who is on the FBI's terrorist 
watch list, who is too dangerous to get on a plane, can still walk into 
any gun store in America, pass a background check, and walk out with an 
assault weapon or any other gun he wants. In fact, from 2004 until 
2014, more than 2,000 suspected terrorists bought firearms legally in 
this country, and they are going to continue doing so until we stop 
them.
  Until 9/11, bombs were the weapon of choice for terrorists looking to 
strike the United States; but in the 15 years since then, 95 percent of 
terrorist deaths that took place in the United States resulted from 
gunfire.
  It is impossible--impossible--to understand that House Republicans 
have now voted 13 times to block the no fly, no buy proposal that 
Congressman Peter King and Congressman Mike Thompson introduced to keep 
guns out of the hands of terrorists in this country. Why? What are they 
afraid of? That we might actually stop a terrorist from passing a 
background check before he buys an assault rifle at Cabela's?
  Bring the no fly, no buy bill to the floor today. Let's have an up-
or-down vote. Let the American people hold us accountable for where we 
stand. This should be a no-brainer.
  More than 80 percent of Americans believe we should prevent suspected 
terrorists from buying a gun, and more than 90 percent of Americans 
believe that a background check should be required on every firearm 
sale so we can keep guns out of the hands of criminals and those with 
such serious mental illness that possessing a gun would make them a 
danger to themselves or others.
  Bills are pending to fix our background check system and to require a 
background check on every gun sale. This is one of the single most 
important and effective steps that we can take to reduce gun violence 
in this country.
  Right now, anyone can go to a gun show or get on the Internet and 
purchase a gun without a background check. As many as two out of every 
five firearm transactions today are conducted without a background 
check. It is too easy for a criminal, a domestic abuser, a terrorist, 
or someone with a serious mental illness to buy a gun through this 
loophole.
  Every day, background checks block 171 attempted purchases by felons, 
48 attempted purchases by domestic abusers, and 19 attempted purchases 
by fugitives. It is critical that we strengthen the background check 
system and require checks on all firearm sales so we can keep more 
dangerous individuals from acquiring these deadly weapons. Bring the 
Fix Gun Checks Act to the floor today.
  Mr. Speaker, we held a moment of silence last week for the victims in 
Orlando. I know that all of us have kept the victims and their loved 
ones and the people of Orlando in our thoughts and prayers since June 
12. But the best way to honor the lives lost in this horrific tragedy 
is to do something to prevent it from happening to others. A moment of 
silence is not enough. We need a moment of sustained action in this 
Chamber, and we need it today.
  Mr. Speaker, it will be an insult to the victims of this shooting and 
their families and every victim of every shooting in this country if we 
continue to do nothing to prevent future tragedies. Do not let this 
Chamber adjourn until we have voted on these critical issues. Bring 
these bills to the floor today. Nothing is more important than stopping 
the bloodshed and ensuring the safety and security of our constituents.

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