[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Pages 15318-15319]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        LAS VEGAS MASS SHOOTING

  Mrs. GILLIBRAND. Mr. President, I rise to speak about the horrific 
mass murders last night. My heart is obviously with the victims and 
their families, and I thank all of our brave first responders who acted 
so quickly.
  These senseless mass shootings must end. We cannot allow this to be 
the new normal, where tragedy after tragedy happens, and we do 
absolutely nothing to address it. It is not good enough to just send 
thoughts and prayers and extend our condolences when people are losing 
their lives to gun violence every day.
  We still have to learn the details about what happened, but what we 
do know is this: This violence, this mass murder, is one of the worst 
massacres we have ever seen in this country. It is yet another reminder 
of Congress' failure to act to protect Americans from gun violence. It 
is another disturbing and painful example of how Congress is too weak 
and too cowardly to stand up to the gun industry.
  The news reports are saying that the gun was shooting in rapid-fire 
bursts, a military-style weapon specifically designed to kill as many 
people as possible in the shortest amount of time, a weapon of war.
  We have to pass laws that protect the American people from this kind 
of horrific violence. It should not be legal for a civilian on American 
soil to own and use a weapon of war like an assault weapon. Our 
military is highly trained to use such weapons. It should not be easy 
for any person to buy a suppressor--known by many people as a 
silencer--to attach to their guns, which makes it harder for police to 
do their jobs and catch violent criminals.
  The people of Nevada voted in November to require background checks 
on all weapons, but the politicians in that State are refusing to 
implement the will of the people. The violence in Las Vegas is only the 
latest tragedy like this. Mass shootings get all the news, but every 
single day in my home State, gun violence on a much smaller scale is 
destroying more and more lives.
  We really need to act. We must take gun violence as seriously as we 
take the threat of terrorism, wherever it is happening.
  We will get to the facts and the bottom of this. And when we do, 
let's honor the lives of those we have lost by doing something about 
it, doing everything we can to make sure this never happens again.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. BLUMENTHAL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. BLUMENTHAL. Mr. President, we have been here before. We have been 
here in the wake of Virginia Tech, Sandy Hook, Orlando, numerous other 
mass shootings, and now Las Vegas.
  We can all agree that our hearts and prayers, mourning and 
condolences go out to the families of loved ones who have suffered this 
senseless, horrific violence. We can also agree that many of the 
details are unknown about the shooter, and a lot of investigation will 
be done. We can all agree that Las Vegas was struck by evil; call it 
pure evil.
  We know what it looks like in Connecticut because we saw it firsthand 
in Newtown. We lived through the heartbreaking, unspeakable violence of 
that day, just a few years ago, when evil visited Newtown and caused 
the death of 26 beautiful human beings, including 20 children. America 
came together in support of us in Connecticut, and today we should come 
together in support of the people of Nevada.
  My heart and prayers are with them, but thoughts and prayers are not 
enough. We know the evil that visited Connecticut also brought forth 
good in other people--in the first responders, the doctors, and 
countless members of the community and people of America who united.
  I will never forget that day in Newtown when the community came 
together in St. Rose of Lima Church for an evening of mourning. I said 
then that the whole world was watching. Indeed, what the world saw was 
courage and resilience of truly heroic proportions--some of the good 
along with the evil.
  When I saw those images today in Las Vegas--the sound of that 
gunfire, the pandemonium, the reports of injuries and deaths--it 
brought back to me that day in Newtown. I was not there for the 
shooting, as I had gone later in the day, but the memories of that day 
and of the successive days, weeks, and years had been brought back. My 
heart broke, but my stomach also churned with anger. I was frustrated 
and furious.
  I am now furious because Congress has failed to act. Nothing has 
changed since Newtown. Congress has been complicit when we have had 
numerous opportunities and many reasons to make America safer and adopt 
commonsense measures that 90 percent of Americans support. So thoughts 
and prayers are not enough. Hand-wringing and soul-searching is needed, 
but it is insufficient. What is needed now is action.
  I am under no illusions. Nobody needs to tell me where the votes are 
at this moment. We need to be realistic about what the agenda is in our 
going forward. We need to be very clear-eyed and realistic, but we also 
need to recognize that we can win this fight. Between the time that 
Ronald Reagan had almost been assassinated and the day that the Brady 
bill had passed, it had been almost 10 years. We need to be in this 
fight as a marathon, not as a sprint, and that is the determination and 
resolve that must be brought to this effort.
  It was 5 years ago when a man wielding a semiautomatic rifle murdered 
20 children and 6 adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown. 
The cries of grief echoed around this country, and there was a moment 
when action could have been taken. We need to seize this moment. Then, 
the vote, shamefully, failed to reach 60 for commonsense measures, like 
background checks. We needed 60, and we had a majority, and our 
colleagues in the House of Representatives told us that that measure 
would have passed there.
  Since then, every day in this country an average of 92 Americans die 
due to gun violence, which is 33,000 Americans every year, and 59 is 
the death toll as of this moment in Las Vegas. Day after day, 92 
Americans are killed as a result of gun violence, and 60 of them are 
suicides, but that is no less a death, and it is a preventable death if 
there are commonsense measures that will stop this carnage.
  I would be happy never to speak about this topic, never to complain 
again about Congress's complicity, but our hearts break, and our 
stomachs churn with fury. America's should as well. After Newtown, 
Aurora, Blacksburg, Charleston, Chattanooga, Lafayette, San Bernardino, 
Orlando, and, now, Las Vegas, these cities have become synonymous with 
mass shootings--unjustly tarnished. What is needed is national resolve.
  For anyone who says that we should only mourn or offer condolences, 
let me just say, very simply: Let us honor those victims and keep faith 
with their

[[Page 15319]]

memories, so that their lives and losses will not be in vain, by taking 
action that makes America safer. Let us redouble our determination. The 
bills are ready to go, the agenda is set, and the action is clear. Let 
us honor their memories through action. If the President believes this 
carnage was pure evil, let him lead--if not today, tomorrow, and if not 
tomorrow, Wednesday, when he visits Las Vegas. If these actions were 
pure evil, let us all lead by our example, and let us move forward to 
stop this carnage in the future. We grieve these losses, but we need to 
recognize that the measures now before Congress are a travesty and a 
dishonor to those lives that were lost.
  One of these proposals is an innocuous-sounding Hearing Protection 
Act--let me repeat: the Hearing Protection Act--which could come to a 
vote as early as this week in the House of Representatives. This 
measure would gut regulations on gun silencers.
  Now, let's be very clear. Silencers are already widely available to 
hundreds of sportsmen who pay the fee, register, and wait for a short 
period. This legislation would make it terrifyingly easy to buy a gun 
silencer. Hunters and recreational shooters deserve to have silencers 
but only if they comply with those regulations. This measure would pose 
an unacceptable risk to public safety and make it more difficult for 
law enforcement, especially in urban areas, to identify gunshots, 
locate shooters, and protect civilians.
  In one interview after another of the victims of last night's 
shooting, there was a common refrain: They ran, and they escaped 
because they heard those gunshots. The only supposed reform measure 
before the Congress right now that has been given a chance of passage 
is a proposal to make it easier to buy gun silencers. The only thing 
that led those individuals to escape--or one of the only things--was, 
in fact, the sound of gunshots. How many lives would have been taken 
last night if the shooter had had a silencer?
  Another proposal is the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act, which would 
essentially eliminate the States' ability to regulate concealed-carry 
permits in their States, undermining the laws that States like 
Connecticut have put in place to keep our residents safe.
  In the wake of Newtown, Charleston, Orlando, and, now, Las Vegas, 
Members of Congress should come together to protect our lives from 
these senseless killings. It is not about Republicans or Democrats. It 
is not about politics. It is not even about policy. It is about public 
safety, simply. We should not be undermining protection. What a 
travesty and tragedy and what a dishonor to the memories of those 
victims in Las Vegas to now be on the verge of weakening rather than 
strengthening our public safety laws.
  Let's join hands across the aisle and across both Houses to stand up 
to the gun lobby, the NRA, and other special interests and release and 
break their grip on Congress. More than thoughts and prayers are 
necessary, although they fulfill a vitally important function. Talk 
must be turned into action. Waiting simply means more deaths, and delay 
means time. Time is not on our side with there being 92 deaths, on 
average, every day as a result of gun violence.
  Let us join together and combat evil. Certainly, it was there in Las 
Vegas, but it will visit other communities, as it does every day. Those 
92 deaths and mass shootings will continue unless commonsense, sensible 
measures, like a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, 
are adopted, as well as there being mandatory background checks for all 
gun sales. Until this is adopted, America will be more at risk. We must 
make America safer, and that is an obligation that we share across the 
aisle and across the two bodies of Congress.
  Thank you.
  I yield the floor.

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