Gun Violence in America

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. Speaker, Americans everywhere are tired of reading headlines about mass shootings. What happened in Orlando in June broke all our hearts, and we have felt similar outrage about the shooting in Houston this week. But while incidents like this command headlines, we forget just how frequent shootings have become.
In New York City, already this year, there have been 897 shooting victims. According to Gun Violence Archive, which tracks shootings daily across the United States, there have been 10,717 gun-related deaths this year and more than 22,000 injuries, and it is only September.

There are steps this Congress could take to help stem this violence. Will any one solution stop gun violence completely? Of course not. There are anywhere from 270 million to 310 million guns in the United States, close to one firearm for every man, woman and child. So we will not solve this problem overnight. But there are some steps we could take, steps that Republicans continue blocking.

First, it makes no sense that if you cannot legally get on an airplane, you can still purchase a firearm. If you are prohibited from flying, you shouldn't be buying a gun. That is just common sense.

Now, some on the other side of the aisle like to drag up an incident or two where someone was incorrectly placed on the no-fly list. If that is the case, I will say, let's also fix the no-fly list. But we cannot use this as an excuse to do nothing. That is what the NRA and the gun manufacturing lobby want Congress to do--nothing.

Second, for 10 years, this Nation used to have an assault weapon ban. President Bush let that law expire. We need to reinstate it.

Third, we need a universal system of background checks, something that 87 percent of the American public supports.

Mr. Speaker, there are other, tougher steps I would like to see implemented. I have legislation that will invest in community organizations that combat gun violence. My bill will also help stop the flow of stolen guns into New York City and hold accountable gun owners who lose their guns and irresponsibly do not report them missing.

For now, there are three basic steps we should take immediately to help reduce this epidemic. Yet Republicans can barely fund the government, let alone take on difficult problems like these.

Let me make one last observation, Mr. Speaker. The American people are watching on this issue. If Republicans are in such a hurry to get back to your districts, I promise, you will hear from your constituents on this issue.

We are all tired of tragedies like Orlando and what happened in Houston this week, and we are also outraged by the daily shootings that do not make national news but still shatter families.

The American people are watching. They are telling the Republican leadership: ``Do your job. Do your job with funding to address Zika. Do your job with money for Flint. And do your job to address the tragedy of gun violence.''

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source