National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017
Floor Speech
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Mr. MARKEY. Thank you, Madam President.
I rise to echo the sentiments of the Senator from Florida. His State has suffered an unspeakable tragedy. It is something that unfortunately brings together two terrible biases--one against the LGBT community and the other a religiously based radical attack inspired by ISIS at that nightclub. They all came together. To the Senator and to everyone from Florida, our deepest, deepest sympathies go to you.
It was, of course, something that was understood in Massachusetts. He mentioned the Tsarnaev brothers as an inspiration to him. They struck on Patriots Day in 2013 in the United States. Mohamed Atta and the other nine hijackers were in Boston when they hijacked the two planes from Logan International Airport. So we know those people are out there. We know that their hate-filled message is intended to kill innocent Americans, and we saw it once again. Unfortunately, the target was a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida.
But for us, I think we have to learn from this. This man had been investigated as a terrorist suspect, and yet we are blocked--the Senator from Florida and I and others--from passing a law that would prevent anyone on a terror watch list from buying a gun in these United States. It is not against the law. The National Rifle Association has enough power here on the floor of the Senate to prohibit someone who is on a terror watch list from buying guns in the United States of America. We need another vote on that issue here in the Senate. We need to give the protections to the American people for them to know that someone on a terror watch list cannot buy a gun in the United States of America.
We also have to ban these military-style assault weapons, like the AR-15, which are the guns of choice for those who seek to inflict mass casualties on civilians. These are not weapons that belong on the streets of our country. They belong in combat overseas, not in our communities. They don't belong in Newtown, they don't belong in San Bernardino, and they don't belong in Orlando. They don't belong in our streets or in our schools or in a civilized society, yet we cannot ban these weapons from being sold in the United States of America.
We have to prevent any known or suspected terrorist from buying firearms, and we have to make it impossible, as well, for them to buy these assault weapons. This is our challenge now.
Once again, we are warned. Once again, we are told what the weapon of choice is. Once again, we know that they are going to target us if we make it easy for them to access these weapons. How many warnings do we need?
The NRA really should stand for ``not relevant anymore'' in American politics. They should not control the agenda here on the floor of the Senate. We should be able to ban people on the terror watch list from buying guns. We should be able to ban these assault weapons from being sold at all inside of our country. The Senate leadership should stop banning a vote here on the Senate floor on ensuring that we do the research at the CDC on this relationship between mental health and the use of guns within our society.
The bill that I have introduced calls for $10 million a year for the next 6 years. We can't even get the money to research gun violence in the United States of America.
It doesn't have to be this way. We can change. We can learn these lessons, but we can't wait any longer to put those commonsense gun laws on the books. We cannot wait any longer to make our streets safer.
So let's close the gun show loophole that allows anyone to go into one of these Kmarts full of killing machines and buy a gun without a background check. Let's close the loophole that allows domestic abusers to buy guns. Let's close the loophole that allows straw purchasers to buy guns and flood our streets with them. Let's repeal the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act and take away the gun manufacturers' immunity from civil liability. PLCAA should stand for ``protecting lives, creating arms accountability,'' not protecting these arms manufacturers from liability if these guns are used to kill innocent people in our society.
So in the coming days and weeks, you can be assured that the National Rifle Association will be opposed to even these limited commonsense gun measures. The NRA has had a stranglehold over Congress for far too long. It is time to end its reign of power. It is time to end its viselike grip on the safety and security of our Nation. Those in Congress who do not support these commonsense measures are siding with those forces that make it easier for these massacres to happen. That is the bottom line of where we are. Now is the time to stand up for the families of Columbine, of Newtown, of Aurora, of Chattanooga, of Charleston, of San Bernardino, and now of Orlando, and of all of the cities across our country, which are saying: Enough is enough.
I was so proud on Saturday to march in the Boston Gay Pride Parade. It was a joyous occasion where love, community, and social justice were all celebrated with a passion and a real sense of progress. But as I woke up the next morning, I saw again how an individual armed with guns and fueled by extremist ideology can fuel violence and terror.
We are a nation of hope, not hatred. After this tragedy, after this deplorable attack, let's denounce hate in all of its forms. Let's stand with the LGBT community and raise our voices with dignity, equality, and love. Let's say no to the rhetoric of hate that demonizes our friends and neighbors because of their faith, sexual orientation, or because of their country of origin. Let's recommit to justice and moving progress forward.
The American people are begging, pleading for this institution to enact commonsense gun safety measures. My hope is that the Senate can succeed where it has recently failed and muster the political will and courage to deliver badly needed reform of our gun laws. Let's work together to do this and to help prevent yet another mass shooting in our country.
I yield back.
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