Continuing Appropriations Act, and Health Extenders Act of

Floor Speech

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Ms. ROSEN. Mr. President, on October 1, 2017, the city of Las Vegas experienced a tragedy on an unprecedented scale--a tragedy that has left our community deeply scarred and our city forever changed.

It was a warm October night. Tens of thousands of people were gathering in town for a music festival. They were there to have fun, to dance, and to be joyous, but that joy was cut short by violence and terror when a lone gunman began to open fire.

In the 10 minutes that the shooting lasted, over 1,100 rounds were fired. I repeat: 1,100 rounds. There were 58 innocent people murdered and 422 injured.

Next week marks the second anniversary of that horrific evening--the deadliest mass shooting in American history. Sons, daughters, parents, friends, and neighborhoods--each one of them were loved, and they were all taken from us far too soon.

Countless others were injured in the chaotic frenzy that followed the gunfire. Many will never live the same life they once knew.

Several victims from that night never received the care they needed, including members of the Nevada's immigrant community, who were too scared--too scared--to seek care for risk of deportation.

The 1 October shooting forever altered the lives of countless families in Las Vegas and countless families across this country. Many are still grieving and will suffer through pain that no family, no friend, no spouse, or no child should ever have to face, and that empty seat at every Thanksgiving and every holiday table will never be filled.

Numerous survivors are still working through the effects of this incredible trauma. Put simply, this massacre shook our community to its very core.

Let me be clear when I tell you today that we were not and we will not be shattered. The bright lights of Las Vegas will continue to shine through the darkness of that day. We are resilient, and we will always be Vegas Strong.

I stand here today to honor the memory of 58 victims who lost their lives and the hundreds more who were injured and are still fighting to recover. I am here to say that they will never be forgotten. We will be there to stand side by side with them as they continue to overcome the challenges and trauma brought on by the shooting.

We must also remember that in the face of terror, there were people who made the selfless choice to run toward the gunfire and to help. They were our brave first responders who risked their lives to offer aid. They were everyday citizens who allowed others to escape in their cars. They were law enforcement officers, firefighters, physicians, and cabdrivers. Every member of our community that could came out to help. All of them are heroes, and all of them must be remembered.

Heroes continue to come forward in the days, weeks, months, and even years now following the shooting, lining up to donate blood, giving financial aid to help support those who were injured and the families of those who were murdered, helping to reunite friends and families in the aftermath, and, to this day, providing counseling and the much- needed support to those who are still suffering from the trauma of that horrific night.

Our city provided legal, financial, and mental health services to those who were affected by the violence that night, including the formation of the Vegas Strong Resiliency Center.

In the days immediately following the shooting, community members and local businesses formed what is now known as the Las Vegas Community Healing Garden, a memorial to those whose lives were lost. Visitors planted 58 trees--one for each victim--and painted rocks and ornaments with words of encouragement and words of strength. Family members decorated trees of their loved ones.

Following the shooting, Nevada also took action, passing a series of gun safety measures to prevent this kind of tragedy from occurring again.

Two years have passed. I wish I could say that Congress has followed Nevada's lead, that we have come together as a nation in healing, put partisanship aside, and passed commonsense gun safety legislation to protect the lives of Americans. But, sadly, this is not the case.

Each day and each year that Congress fails to pass commonsense gun violence prevention measures is another day and another year that we fail to honor the 58 who lost their lives on 1 October and the countless lives that have been lost to gun violence.

This type of tragedy happens all too often in our country. This past year, there were 337 mass shootings. That is nearly one a day for an entire year. So far in 2019, we have already experienced over 300 mass shootings. This is unacceptable. We must work to prevent these weapons from ending up in the wrong hands, and we owe it to the countless Americans who have lost their lives, who were injured and forever scarred, to find a solution, not just for those who lost their lives in Las Vegas but for those in countless other American cities.

In the days following the terrible tragedies in Gilroy, El Paso, and Dayton, I visited the heroes of the Vegas Strong Resiliency Center. They have been working nonstop for 2 years helping our community to heal. As I learned of their efforts not only to help victims and survivors but also to extend a hand to help communities like ours in their greatest time of need, I was reminded by them of just how resilient we are as a people, as a community, and as a country.

We owe it to these heroes to no longer accept inaction. We must all continue to stand up, to speak out, and to refuse to allow these kinds of tragedies because they should never define us.

No American--no American--should ever have to think twice about going to church, the movies, or a concert on a warm October night, and no parent--no mother--should have a bulletproof backpack on their back-to- school shopping list.

As Members of Congress, we were elected to solve problems and to keep our country safe. When it comes to gun violence, we are failing. We are failing spectacularly on both counts, but we don't have to. We can take action. We can take reasonable steps to reduce gun violence. We can put a stop to the carnage that is happening across our country, and we can do this while still respecting the Second Amendment.

What is happening is not normal, but it is also not inevitable. Sharing our thoughts and prayers shouldn't be the only action we ever take. Let's put our differences aside and make mass shootings a thing of the past, not a daily expectation for our future.

It has been over 200 days since H.R. 8, the Bipartisan Background Checks Act, passed the House of Representatives. I am a proud cosponsor of the Senate's companion legislation, S. 42. The legislation is ready to go. The legislation will close loopholes and require background checks for all commercial gun sales, including those made at gun shows and on the internet.

In memory of the 58 Americans who lost their lives on 1 October and those who have lost their lives before and after, I call on my colleagues to act and to take up this legislation for an immediate vote.

It is past time. It is past time that we come together and find solutions. It is past time because if we don't act, then, the inevitable will continue to be our daily reality.

We can prevent mass shootings in this country, but ``can'' is not possible without the word ``courage.''

I implore this body to have the courage so that no other family has to endure this kind of tragedy, this kind of trauma, and this kind of sorrow.

Thank you.

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