[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 15778]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




   HONORING THE MEMORY OF FIRST SERGEANT CHARLESTON HARTFIELD OF THE 
                       NEVADA ARMY NATIONAL GUARD

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Nevada (Ms. Rosen) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. ROSEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the memory of my 
constituent, First Sergeant Charleston Hartfield of the Nevada Army 
National Guard. Our community lost a true-blue American hero on the 1st 
of October. Since the age of 18, Officer Hartfield valiantly served our 
country and our community, spending 16 years in the Army both on Active 
Duty and in the Nevada National Guard and 11 years in our local law 
enforcement.
  First Sergeant Hartfield spent a year deployed to Iraq with the 82nd 
Airborne Division as part of the initial invasion in 2003, where they 
were awarded the Combat Action Badge for having bravely engaged in 
combat operations.
  Those who knew Officer Hartfield remember him for his kindness to 
others and for pouring his heart into our community as a husband, a 
father, a friend, and a youth football coach.
  Officer Charleston Hartfield was taken from us far too soon by a 
senseless tragedy. Our valley and this Nation will mourn his loss, and 
we will carry forward his spirit of courage and selflessness.

                              {time}  1030


                         Reducing Gun Violence

  Ms. ROSEN. Mr. Speaker, it is hard to put into words the devastation 
and heartbreak my community suffered on October 1, 2017. This horrific 
violence has forever altered the lives of countless families in Las 
Vegas and across this country.
  My heart breaks for those who lost a parent, a child, a sibling, and 
a friend. And while this was the deadliest mass shooting in modern 
American history, I know that we join a long list of communities: Sandy 
Hook, Aurora, Tucson, San Bernardino, and Orlando, all who have 
suffered way too much through similar heart-wrenching violence.
  I have lived in southern Nevada for nearly 40 years, and I will tell 
you that I have been overwhelmed by the resilience of Las Vegas. We are 
not just ``Sin City'' or the glittering lights of the strip. We are 
also a tight-knit, compassionate community of hardworking families. The 
shooting on October 1 exemplified the worst of humanity, but our 
response represented the very best of people.
  As we try to figure out how to move forward, I can tell you that we 
are finding strength and hope and courage in our brave first 
responders, in the heroic self-sacrifice of men and women who risked 
and gave their lives for others, and for the kindness of strangers who 
helped transport the wounded to the hospital, who stood in line for 
hours to donate blood, and who came together to support the survivors.
  I implore my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to find that same 
courage to come to the table and have real conversations about 
commonsense solutions to address gun violence. There is no single 
policy solution, but I know we can support the Second Amendment while 
taking reasonable steps to reduce the carnage inflicted on our 
communities by gun violence and mass shootings.
  Mr. Speaker, devices designed to cause mass casualties, like bump 
stocks and high-capacity magazines, have no practical purpose for 
hunting or self-defense. They only increase the threat for potential 
victims trying to find safety, like those at the Mandalay Bay, and they 
make it more challenging for law enforcement to confront and neutralize 
an active shooter.
  I urge all of my colleagues to please join together in a bipartisan 
effort. We need to take commonsense steps in Congress to decrease the 
scope of widespread destruction and tragic mass shootings.
  No community should ever be forced to experience the grief and trauma 
that my constituents are now confronting. It is more urgent than ever 
that we take meaningful action to reduce the toll of widespread gun 
violence. The time is now.

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