[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 9]
[House]
[Pages 12662-12663]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 GUN VIOLENCE PREVENTION DAY OF ACTION

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
California (Mrs. Capps) for 5 minutes.
  Mrs. CAPPS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of all Americans whose 
lives and communities have been affected by gun violence, and to 
highlight the Gun Violence Prevention Day of Action.
  After the tragic 2014 mass shooting in my Congressional District on 
the central coast of California, our community declared that not one 
more life should be lost to gun violence. Yet, today I stand before 
this Chamber with a heavy heart to mourn the many individuals who have 
been killed by a gun since that tragedy. And that number is staggering.

[[Page 12663]]

  In fact, over 2,000 men, women, and children have lost their lives to 
gun violence since the start of the congressional recess in July. That 
is 2,000 people in just 60 days. Right here in our country. Our country 
is better than this.
  House Republicans' decision to dismiss the House for 7 weeks without 
so much as debating gun violence legislation is shameful. Going home to 
our districts without addressing life and death issues is not what the 
American people expect of us. They deserve better.
  But here we are, back in D.C., with Democrats ready to work together 
to move commonsense gun safety measures. We just need a partner. We 
cannot ignore these problems because they are hard. We cannot stand by 
hoping the problem of gun violence will go away by itself. We cannot 
continue to shirk our duties as Representatives while those we 
represent are dying.
  There are commonsense regulations for Congress to debate. The 
American people overwhelmingly support closing loopholes in the 
background check system for firearm sales. Democrats, Republicans, gun 
owners, even members of the NRA support background checks; but the 
Republican leadership will not debate expanded background checks.
  The American people also support closing gun sale loopholes, which 
let dangerous individuals gain access to weapons without any review. 
Democratic and Republican lawmakers have introduced bills that would 
close gun sale loopholes, but the Republican leadership will not allow 
the House to debate closing these dangerous loopholes.
  The American people support the no fly, no buy bill, which would 
prevent terror suspects--terror suspects on the FBI watch list--from 
purchasing weapons. This is the very least we can do. But, again, the 
Republican leadership will not bring up no fly, no buy for debate.
  By not allowing these kinds of votes, or even these important 
debates, House leaders are failing the American people. We know that if 
we do nothing, if we don't even try, nothing will change. Our 
communities are hurting, and they demand action. It is time to answer 
that call.
  Mr. Speaker, whether or not you support this legislation, the 
American people demand that you do your job and hold a vote on the 
commonsense gun legislation they overwhelmingly support. It is the 
least we can do.

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