Gun Violence

Floor Speech

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Ms. BARRAGAN. Mr. Speaker, how many people must die for Congress to act and address the severe epidemic of gun violence in America?

We were devastated by the massacres in Newtown; Las Vegas; Orlando; and most recently in Parkland, Florida. On the Hill today are the courageous students from the Parkland high school, Marjory Stoneman Douglas. They came to Washington with one message: for Congress to take action now on gun violence.

Action doesn't mean holding moments of silence. Action doesn't mean tweeting thoughts and prayers. Action means passing meaningful legislation, like the overwhelming majority of Americans are pleading with us to do.

We should start by banning weapons of war, like the AR-15 and high- capacity magazines. We should allow the CDC to once again research the causes of gun violence that can better protect our communities. And we should also act to pass legislation to require universal background checks.

Yesterday, Democrats filed a motion to force a vote on universal background checks. Not a single Republican has signed on to the motion. I implore my Republican colleagues to sign up to call for action because inaction means that more people will die and more families will grieve and our students will continue to feel unsafe.

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