No More Moments of Silence

Floor Speech

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Mr. POCAN. Mr. Speaker, I would like to introduce you to Caroline Nosal. Caroline was described by her friends as wonderful and sassy. She had a sharp wit and would say exactly what she thought. Friends said she was a vibrant friend with a great smile. Her parents said she was curious, caring, and kind.

She loved books. She wasn't a bookish person, but she loved books, all kinds of books. Once with a friend shopping in a used bookstore, she picked up an old, well-read copy of an 18th century animal husbandry book, a subject she knew nothing about but just wanted to get because it was new to her. She did that a lot.

She was passionate about animals as well. Once while driving to work, she accidentally hit a bird. She stopped, put it in a box, and took it to the Humane Society on her way to work. Even though she was late to work, she knew she had done the right thing.

But in early February of this year, in Madison, Wisconsin, Caroline Nosal was shot to death by a troubled, disgruntled coworker who used to harass her and who had just bought a gun 24 hours earlier.

Only months before this tragedy occurred, Governor Scott Walker and the legislature in Wisconsin changed a decades-old Wisconsin law that had required a 48-hour waiting period to buy a handgun, a measure that, if in place, might have saved Caroline.

You see, the assailant got fired, went out and bought the gun with the plan to immediately shoot her; but since he had never fired a gun, instead, he took it to target practice so he could learn how to shoot it. He bought the gun on Monday, and on Tuesday used it to shoot Caroline Nosal in the chest and in the head. Later, after police picked him up, he said it was easy to kill Nosal, that he was angry with her. He said: ``I'm glad I didn't hit her. I don't know what else, I guess I'm sorry, but . . . I don't know if I am sorry, I'm just glad I didn't hit her.'' Instead, he shot her twice to her death.

Last Wednesday, House Democrats from across the country held a National Day of Action for commonsense gun violence prevention. I held a rally in Madison, Wisconsin, where a couple hundred people showed up to support commonsense changes. It was at that rally where I met Caroline's father, Jim Nosal. Jim and his wife, Jane, are reminders that gun violence can affect any family and that people have a right to be free of gun violence in their communities. The Day of Action followed our historic taking over of the House floor to demand action on gun violence, especially following the Nation's largest mass shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando.

We are urging Congress to act on commonsense gun reform, commonsense gun reform measures like expanded background checks and no fly, no buy. These ideas aren't necessarily progressive pipe dreams; they are the first necessary steps toward preventing gun violence. In a recent poll, 92 percent of respondents said they were in favor of expanding background checks.

While the Speaker may claim that the House Democratic sit-in was disrespectful to the institution, what is truly disrespectful is to stand idly by and allow more tragic stories like Caroline's to unfold. In Congress, we have the opportunity to save lives and reduce the gun violence epidemic in our country. Instead, the majority has decided to trot out a toothless bill crafted by the NRA that does nothing to keep gun violence out of our communities.

If the Speaker won't listen to the House Democrats' calls for real action to prevent gun violence, maybe he will listen to those of his own constituents. The night of the sit-in, we put out a call for comments, and over 500 people commented, including dozens from the Speaker's district and neighboring districts. Let me read just a few of those comments.

Jane, from Racine, said: ``We've had too many moments of silence. It's time for action.''

Karen in Kenosha: ``It breaks my heart as a veteran teacher to now have to teach students to barricade doors and fight back against a person who is trying to kill them with a semiautomatic weapon. What horrible damage is being done to their young psyches as they try and learn with this threat of violence ever present? Please vote for gun control now.''

Jim, from Mount Pleasant, said: ``As a law enforcement officer, I support background checks. We've seen officers injured by people with legal guns.''

Gloria, from Racine, said: ``There's nothing worse than hugging a mom who lost her child to gun violence. I'm tired of going to those vigils.''

And, finally, Quinn, 9 years old, from Somers, Wisconsin: ``People don't want to get shot and die.''

Speaker Ryan, you don't have to listen to us. Listen to your constituents. Listen to 9-year-old Quinn, who doesn't want to get shot and die. Listen to parents like Jim and Jane Nosal, who want to spare other families the pain that they have had to endure.

No more moments of silence. It is time for moments of action, Mr. Speaker. It is time for moments of action.

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