Van Hollen: Business as Usual is Over -- Americans Demand Action on Gun Safety

Press Release

"It's great to be here today with my colleagues. I want to thank all of our colleagues who have been here on the floor of the House all night long. Some reinforcements are arriving this morning, and we're going to continue this conversation with the American people, asking the Republican leadership, the Speaker of the House, to hold two simple votes on common sense measures that we've all talked about. One, "No Fly, No Buy;' one, universal criminal background checks."

"But instead of holding a vote on those two issues, Republicans decided in the middle of the night to run home to their districts, cancelling two days of work in the United States Congress. So rather than spending 30 minutes voting on these two common sense measures, they decided to pack their bags and start their vacation early. And as our colleague Mr. Israel has pointed out, when they go to those airports, they're going to be assured that the people who are on the terrorist watch list, the no-fly list, will not be allowed to board with them. But, by leaving here, they're allowing those same people who might pose a risk to them when they get on that airplane to go home, those same people can run down the road and buy a semi-automatic assault weapon or another gun and wreak terror."

"So these members who left in the middle of the night, they can run, but they're not going to be able to hide from this issue. Because we're going be here in the weeks and months ahead making sure that at every opportunity, we call upon them to take these simple measures."

"So why haven't we had a vote? They don't want to vote, obviously. They don't to tell their constituents where they stand on this issue. And that's because although 90 percent of the American people support these common sense measures, the gun lobby is opposed to these measures, and the NRA is opposed to these measures. And these Republican colleagues would rather risk the possibility of another massacre than risk the wrath of the gun lobby and the NRA. And we, and the American public, are going to call them on it. And we're going to keep calling them on it until we have a vote. And they should come down here in the light of day and explain to the American people why they don't support the common sense measures that 90 percent of the American public say are needed."

"Let me tell a little story about the Maryland legislature. When I was in the Maryland legislature, I met a mom by the name of Carole Price. Carole Price lost her young son John when he went next door to play at the neighbor's house. There was a gun around, and he was accidentally shot. Her young son.

"Carole Price -- like so many of the moms and dads and brothers and sisters who have been converging on the Capitol today, and we're hearing from around the country who lost their loved ones to gun violence -- Carole Price had the courage to say she wanted to work hard and turn that pain into something positive, in the sense of making sure that others didn't experience that tragedy.

"And in the Maryland legislature, we became the first state in the country to require that guns sold in Maryland have built-in trigger locks, safety locks to try and at least reduce accidental gun deaths. And we passed that bill. But guess what? Guess who was opposed to that simple common sense measure? Built-in safety locks to prevent accidental shooting deaths of kids? The gun lobby lobbied against it. The NRA lobbied against it. We got it done, it has saved lives in Maryland. And the common sense measures we're talking about today can save lives as well.

"So I ask my Republican colleagues to at least have the courage to come back here and to hold the vote."

"My colleagues, I want to thank you for what you're doing here, but I know most of all we want to thank the American people for keeping the faith and believing in our system of democracy. Ultimately, their voices will prevail."

"So we are going to keep the fires burning on this issue, because the American public demands it. We're hearing from our constituents, we're hearing from moms and dads and brothers and sisters, our own family members -- when are you guys going to do something about this? It's time to do something about this. And it's at least time to allow democracy to work its will.

"So let's keep up the fight. There's no more business as usual in the House of Representatives. No more moments of silence that make people feel really good, but allow them to escape responsibility for taking no action. Because, as many of us have said, as I said yesterday, silence in the face of injustice makes this body complicit in that injustice. Turning off the microphones -- and refusing to at least have a debate on this -- makes this House of Representatives complicit in the carnage. Because we know there are common sense measures we can take to save lives, but we're not taking action to do something about it.

"That is gross neglect -- when you know there is something you can do to save a life, and you don't take an action that can help stop that death. That's on us. That's on the House of Representatives.

"Let's do the right thing, let's pass these measures. And for God's sake, let's at least have a vote in the light of day on these important measures. I want to thank my colleagues and ask the American people to keep the faith, because we will get this job done. If not today on the floor, in the coming days ahead."

Source