[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 14]
[House]
[Pages 19765-19770]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1900
              FIVE-YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF SANDY HOOK SHOOTING

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 3, 2017, the gentlewoman from Connecticut (Ms. Esty) is 
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader.


                             General Leave

  Ms. ESTY of Connecticut. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that 
all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their 
remarks and to include extraneous material on the subject of tonight's 
Special Order.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from Connecticut?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. ESTY of Connecticut. Mr. Speaker, tomorrow, December 14, marks 
the 5-year anniversary of the horrific school shooting in the home 
community of Sandy Hook Elementary School.
  That day shocked the Nation. Twenty schoolchildren and six 
educators--20 6-year-olds and 7-year-olds--were ripped from the 
community of Newtown and from the United States.
  I remember that day. I was a newly elected Member of Congress 
learning about what it means to serve in this august body. I was with 
about 40 or 50 of my colleagues learning about our duties when I 
started to get emails and text messages that something terrible had 
happened at home. By noon, I learned the worst. Dozens of children had 
been gunned down, in cold blood, along with their teachers.
  I threw my things in the back of the car and I drove from Boston. I 
called my mother, I called my minister, and I prayed for wisdom and I 
prayed for guidance and the courage to face those families.
  I arrived in Newtown while families were being notified that their 
children who they had put on the bus that morning, thinking about 
Hanukkah or Christmas or thinking about the snow that was already on 
the ground, would never come home.
  It is sad. It is sad and it is inexcusable that I stand here 5 years 
later. In that time, this Chamber, the people's House, has not taken up 
the people's business.
  As of this fall, in fact, over 90 percent of Americans still support 
having universal background checks on all gun sales to keep guns out of 
the hands of dangerous people. Over 90 percent of American households 
that have guns also support that commonsense legislation. Yet, in this 
House, we have not been given the opportunity to vote on that 
legislation. In those 5 years, 170,000 Americans have lost their lives 
to gun violence. Think about that: 170,000.
  Newtown, like my hometown of Cheshire, is about 30,000 people. That 
is multiple Newtowns all day, every single one. Every single one of 
those Americans was a son or a daughter of someone and had friends and 
neighbors and loved ones. Again, in that time, this body has not acted.
  Two weeks ago, I was in church in Danbury, Connecticut. I was at 
services with a congregation I try to get to every 6 months or so. I 
saw a couple of people I didn't expect to see. I saw the mother of one 
of the little girls who was killed 5 years ago. I saw the daughter of 
the principal. They were there for guidance, for wisdom, for courage to 
fight the battle that the American people are waging for this House to 
take action on.
  The American people know the right thing to do. Our law enforcement 
know the right thing to do. The vast majority of responsible gun owners 
know the right thing to do. Yet, somehow, this body has failed to act.
  But it is never too late. Now is the time for us to step up. Now is 
the time for us to shoulder our responsibilities so that no other 
community has to go through what Newtown has gone through. Although, in 
that time, we have now seen Las Vegas, we have seen Charleston, we have 
seen Orlando. There are killing fields now in America. That is not 
right. It doesn't need to be.
  I am joined tonight by several of my colleagues who are passionate 
advocates for gun sense and gun safety in America.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Ohio (Mrs. Beatty).
  Mrs. BEATTY. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend and colleague, 
Congresswoman Esty, for leading this Special Order hour and for 
yielding to me.
  Mr. Speaker, I will never forget the Sandy Hook tragedy that happened 
5 years ago tomorrow. It was like yesterday.
  I was at Harvard University. I was seated next to Congresswoman Esty 
when the news broke about the shooting in the district she had just 
been elected to serve.
  The more we learned that day, the more devastating and heartbreaking 
the news became. Innocent children were taken away from their parents, 
from their brothers and sisters, and from their community.
  I hoped and prayed that day that we would never see a tragedy like 
Sandy Hook. But, of course, our country continues to be unique in the 
number of people we have lost to mass shootings and gun violence.
  As a Member of Congress, I cannot stand by and allow our communities 
to

[[Page 19766]]

continue to be upturned by the loss of innocent lives. There are too 
many things we can do to address this epidemic.
  We should allow Federal agencies to study gun violence as a public 
health crisis, because it is. We should keep guns out of the hands of 
individuals on the terrorist watch list and those convicted of hate 
crimes. We should close the gun show loopholes, Mr. Speaker, and 
reinstate the assault weapons ban.
  You will note that none of the proposals I just mentioned would in 
any way infringe on the Second Amendment or limit the ability of 
Americans to protect themselves or their families. So there should be 
no reason why our Republican colleagues can't join us and pass sensible 
reforms that will save lives, like the lives we could have saved at 
Sandy Hook.
  I hope and pray that this Congress has the courage to curb this 
epidemic of gun violence, because I don't want to continue to see the 
Sandy Hooks, the Charleston Nines, the Orlandos, or what we saw this 
year in cities like Las Vegas or small towns like Sutherland Springs.
  One of the things we can do to honor the memory of the victims of 
those tragedies and all victims of gun violence is to make sure that no 
more families have to experience the same senseless loss.
  Again, I thank my colleague and friend for being courageous and for 
standing up and fighting for better gun laws so that we can save lives. 
I thank her for being a champion and leading tonight's effort.
  Ms. ESTY of Connecticut. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Thompson), my friend and the leader in our effort, who 
is an expert in guns. He has experienced more than his share of gun 
violence as a decorated servicemember fighting our Nation's battles, 
and he has now led us for the last 5 years in our efforts for a safer, 
better society and a better world as the head of our Gun Violence 
Prevention Task Force.
  Mr. THOMPSON of California. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for 
yielding and also for her leadership in regard to gun violence 
prevention and all the work that she has done and all of the effort she 
has put forward to try and bring some common sense to this issue.
  The speaker before me said that she will never forget what happened 
at Sandy Hook and where she was when that tragedy took place. I don't 
think there are any of us who know what Sandy Hook was or were in 
Congress when Sandy Hook happened or care about this issue who will 
ever forget where we were.
  For me, I was in my home State of California, in the Sacramento 
Valley, in a duck blind. I was duck hunting. Yes, I am a hunter. I am a 
gun owner. I carried a weapon in Vietnam during the Vietnam war. I 
strongly support the Second Amendment.
  But I truly and passionately believe that, as a responsible gun 
owner, I have a responsibility, as does every responsible gun owner in 
the United States of America, to speak out to make sure that everyone 
who handles and owns a firearm does it safely and responsibly and that 
we do everything we can to make sure that people who shouldn't get 
their hands on firearms don't.
  I know you can't stop everybody, but we should be doing everything we 
can to minimize the likelihood that someone who shouldn't have a 
firearm--a criminal, a domestic abuser, someone who is dangerously 
mentally ill--doesn't get their hands on firearms.
  Last week, families who lost loved ones in the Sandy Hook massacre 
came here to Capitol Hill to share their grief and to call for action 
to deal with this terrible, terrible thing we call gun violence. This 
was a day after the House passed the dangerous Concealed Carry 
Reciprocity bill that would let criminals convicted of violent crimes 
carry loaded concealed guns in virtually every State in the country.
  Instead of honoring the 20 precious little children and the 6 brave 
and dedicated educators who were slaughtered at Sandy Hook, the 
Republican leadership put the gun lobby ahead of State laws and ahead 
of gun violence prevention.
  We have had 40 moments of silence since Sandy Hook. Forty moments of 
silence. Meanwhile, there have been 1,500 mass shootings since that 
awful day in December, 5 years ago.
  64,000 people in the United States of America have been killed by 
someone using a gun. Last week, the families of those victims asked us 
one thing. They asked us to honor their loved ones with action, stop 
the gun lobby's reckless and profit-driven agenda, and stand up for 
communities all across this country.
  As I have said before, I am a gun owner. I have owned and used guns 
all of my life. I support the Second Amendment.
  I am here tonight to call on the Republican leadership to come to the 
table. Let's move commonsense, bipartisan legislation that will keep us 
safe, keep our communities safe, and still honor the Second Amendment.
  I care about the people in my district, as I know all of you care 
about the people in your districts. I have a son who is a deputy 
sheriff. I certainly don't want him to go out on a call and meet up 
with somebody who shouldn't have a gun. I have got grandchildren in my 
community. I certainly don't want them exposed to people who shouldn't 
have guns.
  I am here tonight to call on the Republican leadership to do 
something about this. Let's move this commonsense, bipartisan 
legislation. We can start by expanding background checks to make it 
harder for criminals and the dangerously mentally ill to get their 
hands on guns. This should be the first line of defense. Congress 
should make that happen.
  Ninety-two percent of the American people believe we should expand 
background checks. What is the harm in checking to ensure that someone 
is not a criminal or to ensure that someone is not dangerously mentally 
ill before we allow them to buy a gun and take it off into the 
community where they can possibly do some harm?
  We put these ideas up before this leadership and there has been 
silence. No hearings on the bill, no votes on the bill.
  Well, if the Republican leadership doesn't like our ideas about how 
to curb gun violence, then how about putting together a select 
committee of both Democrats and Republicans? Charge that select 
committee with working on the issue of gun violence prevention and to 
come up with some ideas that will keep our communities safe.

                              {time}  1915

  We owe it to the families of Sandy Hook and to all those who have 
lost someone to gun violence. We dishonor their memory when we do 
nothing, and that is what is happening under this leadership: we are 
doing nothing. That is shameful. We need to make sure that we do 
everything we can to help prevent gun violence.
  Ms. ESTY of Connecticut. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from 
Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee), ranking member of the Subcommittee on Crime, 
Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations of the House Judiciary 
Committee and vice chair of the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding, 
and I thank her for her leadership. I am sure she is leading on this 
devastating day and devastating loss in her district that she would 
much prefer not to do.
  As I listened to my colleagues, each of us giving our own separate 
story of where we were the day of Sandy Hook, all I can say, and what I 
remember, is that I became breathless; I became unbelieving. It was a 
very painful day. It was a sickening day, horrifying, and I was 
questioning: Is this really happening, or did this really happen?
  As a member of the Judiciary Committee, and as I have listened over 
the years of some of the more descriptive accounts of Sandy Hook, some 
of the stories of such bravery of the principal and teachers who lost 
their lives, or those who tried to intervene on this deranged gunman--
who, by the way, killed his mother before he came to that school--there 
is nothing more that you can say. Breathless. Similar

[[Page 19767]]

to the actions of former President Barack Obama.
  I can distinctly remember him being before the national audience, the 
people of the United States, as I recall, in the White House, and 
wiping a tear, or tears, away from his eyes. I think the whole Nation, 
at that time, crumbled. A Commander in Chief, known for his strong, 
stoic leadership, could not comprehend what had happened to these 
children at Sandy Hook.
  I think all of us believe this would be a galvanizing call to action. 
All of us took notice. We never expected Las Vegas with 50-plus killed 
in 2017, never expected Orlando in 2016 with 50 killed, or Virginia 
Tech that happened a few years before.
  It amazes me that we are here in commemoration and not here in 
celebration of what we accomplished for those who yet live: the little 
ones who go every day to school, the college students, the people who 
go to clubs, the church-going people. What did we accomplish? Why are 
we being rebuffed?
  Mr. Speaker, I want to say to the Sandy Hook families, of whom I met 
as well, what brave men and women. Here they are spending their time 
trying to be the soldiers of reason around gun safety. It is horrifying 
to admit that gun violence now seems to be a staple of American life.
  The United States ranks number one in the world in terms of firearms 
per capita, with 88.8 guns per 100, and has the highest homicide by 
firearm rate in the developed world. The problem is so endemic that gun 
violence is now the third leading cause of death for children in the 
United States.
  How many parents crumble themselves or fall over a casket of a dead 
child? We know in Chicago that children die by drive-by shootings 
through no fault of their own. Chicago has tough gun laws, and there is 
a mockery being made by those who oppose gun safety laws, but you 
recognize that the surrounding areas that Chicago is in the midst of--
the States--they have no constraints of much, so the guns are 
transported into States like Illinois and cities like Chicago.
  An average of 1,297 children die annually from gun-related injuries. 
And our colleague and friend, Robin Kelly, reminds us all the time of 
the gun violence that continues in cities like Chicago.
  Guns are linked to roughly 33,000 deaths in the United States per 
year. About two-thirds of them are suicides.
  According to the Pew Research Center, a majority of Americans across 
partisan lines support gun policy proposals, such as barring people 
with mental illness from buying guns, prohibiting gun purchases by 
people on Federal no-fly or watch lists, something we have been trying 
to pass forever--a reasonable response to the safety of Americans.
  As a member of the Homeland Security Committee, I cannot imagine why 
that would not be a unifying legislative initiative--and background 
checks for private gun sales and sales at gun shows and universal 
background checks.
  There is always the rebuttal: ``Guns don't kill, people do.'' But 
people with varying conditions take up guns because they are allowed to 
do so with unfettered gun purchases. It is well known--the percentage 
of membership of the NRA. That is why I was glad to listen to Chairman 
Thompson, who is a gun owner, a gun user, but how fortunate we are to 
have him lead the committee, because he can unabashedly, as a war 
veteran, combat war veteran, say that it doesn't make sense in America 
to be able to have unfettered gun use.
  The majority must cut its close ties to the powerful gun lobby to 
facilitate useful gun control legislation necessary immediately. 
America has six times as many firearm homicides as Canada and nearly 16 
times as many as Germany.
  The United Nations data shows that America far and away leads other 
developed countries when it comes to gun-related homicides. America has 
4.4 percent of the world's population, but almost half of the civilian-
owned guns around the world.
  In December 2012, a gunman walked into Sandy Hook Elementary School 
in Newtown, Connecticut, and killed 20 children, 6 adults, and 
himself--someone who had killed his mother before he came. Since then, 
there have been at least 1,518 mass shootings, with at least 1,715 
people killed, and 6,000 wounded.
  Who would have ever imagined that a man would be at the top of a 
hotel and massively kill so many. Who would ever imagine that there is 
a law on the books that prevent the Centers for Disease Control and the 
NIH to study the impact of gun violence as a health crisis. This 
Congress has. Republicans have.
  So, in spite of mass shootings, we have unfortunate opposition and 
downright obstructionism on getting good gun safety legislation on the 
floor of the House.
  I am not a stranger to this. I come from Texas. There are a lot of 
guns in Texas. And I would like to think that a majority of my fellow 
Texans handle their guns safely and understand the value of gun safety 
legislation.
  But when I introduced the first city ordinance to hold parents 
responsible for children that got guns and shot each other, it was an 
uprising, a revolution. It was a packed chamber. People were wearing 
their colonial clothing, playing flutes, singing patriotic songs, and 
saying that we were stepping on the Second Amendment.
  But medical doctors and parents who had lost children because those 
children had gotten guns and shot their sibling, they understood that 
it was a small measure to stop children from getting their parents' 
guns on a summer day, or after school, and injuring or killing their 
little brother or sister.
  Is there any common sense?
  So today, I join in honoring the Sandy Hook families, an honor that I 
know they did not wish to have. They would rather have their precious 
little ones.
  As I close, I want to make two points:
  There is no doubt that people are dying because of gun violence, that 
we exceed the rational civilized perspective of how many guns are in 
this country, and that our children are dying. Seven children and 
adolescents lose their lives to gun violence each day, 75 percent of 
which are under the age of 12 years old. A lot of these are through 
accidental shootings where children get guns.
  I leave you with this perspective: a great nation. Yes, we send young 
people into war. That is one of the arguments: 18-year-olds have guns, 
yes, as they stand up for their country, in an organized, regularized 
manner to defend this Nation, and we thank them for their young 
patriotism.
  But I venture to say, as I visit faraway places--war zones--young 
soldiers understand the difference of an AR-15 or an AK rifle in war, 
as opposed to being on the streets. And our officers, who are doing 
their duty, good officers, who are in the course of good police work, 
who have to do a stop, and they run into someone who now has been given 
latitude to the concealed carry reciprocity bill, to just carry a gun 
any way you want, and if you come to a State that has strict and 
positive gun safety laws, that officer has to be able to be judge and 
jury to determine whether your random license from somewhere else is 
credible.
  As my colleague said: That is the Christmas gift that they are giving 
to the children of America, rather than the universal background check 
or the forbidding of individuals on a terrorist list carrying guns. 
That is not the gift that they are willing to give.
  They are giving our children, under the twinkling of the lights, 
rather than the loving arms of safety and security--they are giving 
them bullets and automatic weapons and the right for people to go on 
the streets and kill in churches, like that in Texas and that in South 
Carolina.
  Mr. Speaker, I finish by saying that even the smallest of amendments, 
when we did the concealed weapons carry, the one that would disallow 
those with convictions of domestic violence and stalking, my Republican 
friends voted it down. Or an amendment that said that if you committed 
a hate crime, and convicted of such, my Republican friends voted it 
down.

[[Page 19768]]

  So I am not giving up, and I thank the gentlewoman for having us come 
today. My celebration tonight is of the courage of families who 
suffered so much to continue their journey to stand up and be counted 
for what is right in America, and that is real gun safety legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, on October 1, 2017 the deadliest mass shooting in the 
history of the United States occurred in Las Vegas, Nevada when, in a 
heinous act of terror and hatred, 58 persons were killed and 515 others 
were injured in a shooting at an outdoor concert near the Mandalay Bay 
Resort and Casino in Las Vegas.
  Until then, June 13, 2016 marked the deadliest mass shooting in the 
history of the United States in Orlando, Florida, when, in another 
heinous act of terror and hatred, 49 persons were killed at Pulse, a 
popular nightclub, meeting place, and sanctuary for Central Florida's 
vibrant and dynamic LGBTQ community; sadly, the Las Vegas mass shooting 
surpassed that dreadful shooting in numbers of dead and injured.
  The horrifying events in Las Vegas mark the 273rd mass shooting in 
the U.S. in the 275 days that have passed so far in 2017, according to 
Gun Violence Archive.
  Mass shootings are a near daily occurrence in America, but what 
happened in Las Vegas stands out: It was the deadliest such incident in 
U.S. history, with more than 58 killed and 515 injured.
  Including that massacre, the four deadliest U.S. mass shootings have 
occurred over the past 10 years.
  A mass shooting is defined by Gun Violence Archive as any incident in 
which four or more are shot and/or killed in a single event, at the 
same general time and location not including the shooter.
  Recent U.S. mass shootings include:
  1. Las Vegas, 2017: 50+ killed
  2. Orlando, 2016: 50 killed
  3. Virginia Tech, 2007: 32 killed
  4. Sandy Hook, 2012: 27 killed
  5. San Ysirdo, 1984: 21 killed
  6. San Bernadino, 2015: 14 killed
  7. Edmond, 1986: 14 killed
  8. Fort Hood, 2009: 13 killed
  9. Columbine, 1999: 13 killed
  There have been more than 11,600 deaths linked to gun violence so far 
in 2017, which is roughly equivalent to nearly four 9/11 attacks in 
terms of the total number killed on September 11, 2001.
  Comparatively, more than 15 thousand were killed by gun violence in 
2016, and there were 383 mass shootings.
  It is horrifying to admit that gun violence now seems to be a staple 
of American life.
  The United States ranks No. 1 in the world in terms of firearms per 
capita--with 88.8 guns per 100 people--and it has the highest homicide-
by-firearm rate in the developed world.
  The problem is so endemic that gun violence is now the third leading 
cause of death for children in the U.S.
  An average of 1,297 children die annually from gun-related injuries.
  Guns are linked to roughly 33 thousand deaths in the U.S. per year; 
about two-thirds of them are suicides.
  According to Pew Research Center, a majority of Americans (across 
partisan lines) support gun policy proposals such as barring people 
with mental illnesses from buying guns; prohibiting gun purchases by 
people on federal no-fly or watch lists; and background checks for 
private gun sales and sales at gun shows.
  The majority must cut its close ties to the powerful gun lobby to 
facilitate useful gun control legislation necessary immediately.
  America has six times as many firearm homicides as Canada, and nearly 
16 times as many as Germany.
  United Nations data shows that America far and away leads other 
developed countries when it comes to gun-related homicides.
  America has 4.4 percent of the world's population, but almost half of 
the civilian-owned guns around the world.
  In December 2012, a gunman walked into Sandy Hook Elementary School 
in Newtown, Connecticut, and killed 20 children, six adults, and 
himself.
  Since then, there have been at least 1,518 mass shootings, with at 
least 1,715 people killed and 6,089 wounded.
  The fairly broad definition of ``mass shooting'' includes not only 
shootings in which four or more people were murdered, but shootings in 
which four or more people were shot at all (excluding the shooter).
  Even under this broad definition, mass shootings make up a tiny 
portion of America's firearm deaths, which totaled more than 33,000 in 
2014.
  On average, there is more than one mass shooting for each day in 
America.
  Whenever a mass shooting occurs, supporters of gun rights often argue 
that it is inappropriate to bring up political debates about gun 
control in the aftermath of a tragedy.
  For example, former Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, a strong 
supporter of gun rights, criticized former President Barack Obama for 
``trying to score cheap political points'' when Obama mentioned gun 
control after a mass shooting in Charleston, South Carolina.
  But if this argument is followed to its logical end, then it will 
never be the right time to discuss mass shootings.
  Under the broader definition of mass shootings, America has nearly 
one mass shooting a day.
  So if Congress is forced to wait for a time when there is not a mass 
shooting to talk gun control, Congress could find itself waiting for a 
very long time.
  States with more guns have more gun deaths.
  Within the United States, a wide array of empirical evidence 
indicates that more guns in a community leads to more homicide.
  Higher populations, more stress, more immigrants, and more mental 
illness does not correlate with more gun deaths.
  States with tighter gun control laws have fewer gun-related deaths.
  A 2016 review of 130 studies in 10 countries, published in 
Epidemiologic Reviews, found that new legal restrictions on owning and 
purchasing guns tended to be followed by a drop in gun violence--a 
strong indicator that restricting access to guns can save lives.
  The good news is that all firearm homicides, like all homicides and 
crime, have declined over the past two decades--although that may have 
changed in 2015 and 2016, with a recent rise in murders nationwide.
  There is still active debate among criminal justice experts about why 
this crime drop is occurring--but one theory that researchers have 
widely debunked is the idea that more guns have deterred crime--in 
fact, the opposite may be true, based on research compiled by the 
Harvard School of Public Health's Injury Control Center.
  Although America's political debate about guns tends to focus on 
grisly mass shootings and murders, a majority of gun-related deaths in 
the U.S. are suicides.
  Research that shows greater access to guns dramatically increases the 
risk of suicide.
  The states with the most guns report the most suicides.
  Perhaps the reason access to guns so strongly contributes to suicides 
is that guns are much deadlier than alternatives like cutting and 
poison.
  Reducing access to guns can be so important to preventing suicides: 
stalling an attempt or making it less likely to result in death makes a 
huge difference--it opens the opportunity for someone to help or for 
the suicidal person to reach out to someone to help.
  That is why limiting access to lethal means is so powerful.
  Since police shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, on 
August 9, 2014, police have killed at least 2,902 people as of May 
2017.
  Given that states with more guns tend to have more homicides, it is 
not too surprising that, as a study in the American Journal of Public 
Health found, states with more guns also have more cops die in the line 
of duty.
  Researchers looked at federal data for firearm ownership and 
homicides of police officers across the U.S. over 15 years.
  They found that states with more gun ownership had more cops killed 
in homicides: Every 10 percent increase in firearm ownership correlated 
with 10 additional officers killed in homicides over the 15-year study 
period.
  The findings could help explain why U.S. police officers appear to 
kill more people than cops in other developed countries.
  For police officers, the higher rates of guns and gun violence in 
America means they not only will encounter more guns and violence, but 
they can expect to encounter more guns and deadly violence, making them 
more likely to anticipate and perceive a threat and use deadly force as 
a result.
  Over the past 20 years, Americans have clearly shifted from 
supporting gun control measures to greater support of ``protecting the 
right of Americans to own guns.''
  This shift has happened even as major mass shootings, such as the 
attacks on Columbine High School and Sandy Hook Elementary School, have 
received more press attention.
  Although mass shootings are often viewed as some of the worst acts of 
gun violence, they seem to have little effect on public opinion about 
gun rights.
  That helps explain why Americans' support for the right to own guns 
appears to be rising over the past 20 years even as more of these mass 
shootings make it to the news.

[[Page 19769]]

  Although Americans say they want to protect the right to bear arms, 
they are very much supportive of many gun policy proposals--including 
some fairly contentious ideas, such as more background checks on 
private and gun show sales and banning semi-automatic and assault-style 
weapons.
  This type of contradiction is not exclusive to gun policy issues.
  For example, although most Americans in the past said they do not 
support Obamacare, but most of them also said they like the specific 
policies in the health-care law.
  On average, 7 children and adolescents lose their lives to gun 
violence each day, 75 percent of which are under the age of 12 years 
old.
  So many people die annually from gun violence in the United States 
that the death toll between 1968 and 2011 eclipses the total lives lost 
in all the armed conflicts in the history of the United States.
  On June 7, 2015, a gunman shot and killed nine people at the Emanuel 
African Methodist Episcopal Church Charleston, South Carolina, one of 
the oldest and largest black congregations in the South.
  On November 11, 2009, at Fort Hood, near Killeen, Texas, a gunman 
shot and killed 13 people, and wounded 30 others.
  On August 5, 2012 in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, a gunman shot and killed 
six people, and injured three others, at the Sikh Temple of Oak Creek.
  On July 7, 2015 in Chattanooga, Tennessee a gunman shot and killed 
five people, including two U.S. Marines and a Naval Officer, and shot 
and injured two others at a recruiting center and U.S. Naval Reserve 
Center.
  On December 2, 2015 in San Bernardino, California, two gunmen killed 
14 people and injured 21 others at the Inland Regional Center.
  On December 14, 2012, a gunman murdered 26 persons, including 20 
children and 6 school administrators and teachers, at Sandy Hook 
Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut.
  On August 8, 2015, a gunman brutally murdered his ex-girlfriend and 
her six children and husband in one of the most notorious cases of 
domestic violence in the history of Houston, Texas.
  On April 16, 2007, a gunman killed 32 persons and injured 17 others 
at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, 
Virginia.
  Mass shootings occur more frequently in states that do not require 
background checks for all gun sales.
  Analyses of mass shootings in the United States between 2009 and 2015 
document that the majority of mass shootings occur in venues where the 
carrying of firearm is not restricted.
  In states that require background checks for all handgun sales, 
including guns offered in unlicensed sales online and at gun shows, 
there are 52 percent fewer mass shootings.
  Congress must take action to prevent other incidents such as the 
recent act of terror and hatred in Las Vegas, Nevada that resulted in 
the tragic loss of 58 innocent lives.
  We extend our deepest sympathies to all those affected by this 
tragedy and recognize the skill and heroism of the law enforcement 
officers and first responders who came to the aid of others.
  We commend the efforts of those who are working to care for the 
injured and investigate this horrific incident.
  We extend our heartfelt condolences and prayers to the families of 
the fallen, and to all those affected in the community of Las Vegas and 
in the United States.
  And I pledge to continue to work to reduce gun violence and prevent 
mass shooting.
  Mr. LANGEVIN. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to thank the gentlelady from 
Connecticut for organizing this special order and for her commitment to 
honoring the victims of the tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary 
School on December 14, 2012.
  I rise to join her in remembrance and to call on my colleagues to 
take immediate action to end gun violence across our nation.
  The horrific shooting spree in Newtown, Connecticut, five years ago 
shocked us all. Twenty innocent children and six brave educators fell 
victim to unspeakable violence--the work of a deeply disturbed young 
man armed with a semiautomatic rifle and two handguns.
  More than ever, it revealed the desperate need to reform our gun 
laws.
  But five years later, we have nothing to show for it but more mass 
shootings--more innocent lives lost. We have made no meaningful 
progress, and we have not passed any commonsense legislation, like 
banning high-capacity magazines, which the Sandy Hook shooter used.
  It is far past time to enact laws to strengthen our background check 
system, closing loopholes that allow unlicensed gun dealers to sell 
firearms to Americans without background checks at gun shows and over 
the internet, putting us all at risk.
  Instead, my Republican colleagues continue to try to weaken gun 
safety laws by passing legislation like the Concealed Carry Reciprocity 
Act, which would override state law and allow domestic abusers, 
teenagers, and people untrained in gun safety to carry concealed 
weapons freely across the nation.
  Moreover, they block federal funds from being used to even research 
gun violence, for fear it will be used to ``advocate gun control.''
  This is simply unacceptable and morally irresponsible. As members of 
Congress, it is our duty to pass laws to make our communities safer. 
The only way to respond to mass shootings like the one at Sandy Hook 
Elementary is to take action that will prevent such tragedies from 
happening in the future.
  Since 2012, more than 170,000 other lives have been ended by gun 
violence, more than 170,000 families devastated. The gun violence 
epidemic continues to plague our nation, and we must act now to stop 
it.
  Ms. ESTY of Connecticut. Mr. Speaker, as we have heard so eloquently 
from my colleagues, everyone agrees that we should keep guns out of the 
hands of dangerous people. But, in fact, this House and this 
administration have been moving in the opposite direction.
  Just last week, hundreds of Americans whose loved ones had been 
killed by guns in the last few years came to Washington for a long-
planned memorial vigil, a national vigil, to honor those whose lives 
had been taken from us from gun violence. On that very day, this House 
decided to call up an offensive dangerous piece of legislation on 
concealed carry permits.
  This bill will make it easier for domestic violence abusers to pursue 
their victims across State lines carrying loaded concealed weapons into 
States that do not allow that, overriding the choices of States like 
mine in Connecticut that have strict laws to protect domestic violence 
victims, who are five times more likely to be killed if there is a gun 
in the household.
  That is why my State has taken action to protect women and children 
from death by gun from domestic abusers. But now my State--if this law 
gets passed by the Senate and signed by the President--my State's 
choices will be overridden. The law enforcement in my State will be at 
greater risk.

                              {time}  1930

  That is not protecting the American people. That is putting them at 
risk.
  Recently, the administration decided to take the names of all 
fugitives. One of the categories of those who are not permitted legally 
to own weapons are people who are fugitives from justice. It seems like 
a fairly sensible rule, just like it is a sensible rule to not have 
those who are believed to be terrorists to legally purchase guns.
  Yet, this administration recently took tens of thousands of names of 
people who have been on the National Instant Criminal Background Check 
System as prohibited from purchasing a gun legally. Because of their 
criminal history, the fact that they are fugitives from justice, tens 
of thousands of those names have been taken out of the records. They 
have been sent back to the States, saying they should look at them 
again.
  In so doing, how long is it going to be before one of those dangerous 
people buys a gun because the name is no longer in the system?
  And who knows if it is going to be your child or your child or your 
loved one or your neighbor. That is not what we are sent here to do.
  The families of Newtown have persevered. Despite all odds, they have 
found the courage to get up every day. Some are pursuing brain research 
to figure out how to encourage empathy. Some have written beautiful 
music, composed poetry. Some have started programs in schools to teach 
children how to be kind to each other. Some have stepped forward as 
extraordinary citizen activists and come to Washington and pound the 
halls, the marbled halls of State capitols around the country. They are 
true American heroes fighting for what they believe in and a better 
society.
  And some, in some ways I think the bravest among them, have chosen to 
bring new children into this world--the

[[Page 19770]]

sort of optimism and courage that I can't fathom if my child at 6 or 7 
years old had been gunned down in those classrooms in the Sandy Hook 
Elementary School. But if they can have that resolve and that courage 
and that faith in this country, so can we.
  A good and a great nation takes care of its citizens. A good and a 
great nation responds to the cries of the people. A good and a great 
nation, above all, protects its children.
  Madam Speaker, we have the opportunity to do that. Thoughts and 
prayers and moments of silence are not enough. The American people 
deserve action. When I get on a plane tomorrow to fly back to 
Connecticut to attend memorial services on the 5-year anniversary of 
those tragic and shocking murders of children in Sandy Hook Elementary 
School, I would like to be able to tell them that we are doing our job 
and our duty in this House by taking action and honoring their memories 
with truly taking action to protect them.
  I want to thank my colleagues for joining me here tonight.
  Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from the State of 
Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro), my colleague.
  Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, I want to thank my colleagues who are 
here this evening. I also want to thank my colleague, Congresswoman 
Esty, for her indomitable efforts and work in making sure that we focus 
our time and our attention to the prevention of gun violence.
  Madam Speaker, I rise to honor and to commemorate the victims of the 
Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, 5 years 
ago. We lost 20 beautiful innocent children and 6 wonderful caring 
adults. While the grief and pain of the families who lost a loved one 
at Sandy Hook endures, we can all find hope and strength in the 
resilience of Newtown, and, together, we must honor their loss with 
action.
  Tonight, I want to share an essay from ``Bullets into Bells: Poets 
and Citizens Respond to Gun Violence.'' Abbey Clements, a teacher at 
Sandy Hook, wrote the following: ``154 shots. They heard them all. I 
thought they were folding chairs falling. We huddled into the coats and 
backpacks. Some of them cried. Some of them laughed--how could they 
know? And if they knew, how could they believe? We shared a water 
bottle, a blue one, passing it around. Little arms poking out to take 
it. We waited. We had to believe the police were who they said they 
were. I opened the door. They scattered. A few in my outstretched arms. 
We ran. We were lucky. Surviving is a gift and a burden. What do you do 
with that?
  ``For me, as soon as I could, I started to fight. I fight to keep 
guns out of the hands of dangerous people. I fight to keep guns locked 
up and away from curious toddlers and depressed teens. I fight against 
arming teachers, and I fight to keep guns out of college dorms and 
classrooms. Lockdowns, active-shooter drills, and backpacks that morph 
into shields aren't the answer.
  ``Parents shouldn't have to worry about whether or not their kids 
will make it home from school. A year or two after the tragedy, one mom 
told me that, every day after school, she left a gift for her daughter 
sitting on her bed--a celebration for making it home.''
  Those are the words of Abbey Clements, a teacher at Sandy Hook.
  It is our job to make sure that those children get home safe from 
school. We have the ability to do that in this institution. What we 
need is the will to do it.
  Again, I thank my colleague, Congresswoman Esty, for her leadership 
in this effort.
  Ms. ESTY of Connecticut. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from 
Connecticut for her stirring words. Abbey Clements is an extraordinary 
woman, and her daughter, Sarah, is now a college student here in 
Washington and is helping take up that charge of being one of the 
citizen activists and one of the citizen leaders who understands that 
democracies empower and charge us to correct that which is wrong.
  What is happening in this country is wrong. These are not tragedies 
from above. These are not natural disasters. These are man-made 
tragedies and man-made deaths, and it is up to us to do better.
  Again, I want to thank my colleagues for joining me here this 
evening. I will take their wishes, their words, their energy, their 
passion, and their commitment to action back with me to Newtown 
tomorrow evening.
  Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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