[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 7]
[House]
[Page 9587]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      THE NRA AND PHILANDO CASTILE

  (Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute.)
  Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask a simple 
question: Who is the National Rifle Association here to protect?
  I ask this question because Philando Castile, exercising his 
constitutionally protected right to bear arms, was shot dead in front 
of his girlfriend and his young daughter.
  At that time the NRA claimed that they were awaiting ``more facts.'' 
A year later, the investigation is over and the trial is complete. The 
facts are clear. Philando's killer remains free, but, Mr. Speaker, I 
and many Americans across this Nation remain confused and dissatisfied.
  Mr. Speaker, dashcam video released yesterday confirmed that Second 
Amendment protections simply do not apply to Black, law-abiding, 
concealed carry permit-holding, compliant Philando Castile. And still 
the NRA has had nothing to say.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask again: If the NRA isn't here to protect law-
abiding gun owners like Philando Castile, then just who are they here 
to protect?

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