[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 12666]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              GUN VIOLENCE

  (Mrs. NAPOLITANO asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mrs. NAPOLITANO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak on gun violence.
  Two-thirds of gun deaths are suicides, but rarely part of the 
conversation. These deaths are not inevitable. Allowing Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention to research this, along with doing 
universal background checks, can and do save lives.
  September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. It is time for 
advocates to share stories of hope and to find solutions to self-harm. 
We must educate ourselves and our neighbors on signs and symptoms of 
depression to reduce suicide by gun.
  Further work is needed. We must promote gun safety without 
stigmatizing those with mental illness. Congress must work to keep guns 
out of the hands of people who should not have them: domestic abusers 
and individuals with violent histories like assaults.
  This is too important. We must act now. No longer can we tolerate it.

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