Protecting Our Kids Act

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mrs. DINGELL. Madam Speaker, as a child, I lived with a man, my father, who should not have had access to a gun. When his temper flared, we would hide in the closet, my brothers and sisters, praying we would see the morning. My baby sister never recovered from those fears and ultimately died by suicide, haunted by the memories.

Too many children are living with those fears today, in classrooms, and in their homes. We cannot afford to look away, once again, and do nothing.

Twenty-eight years ago, when the assault weapons ban was debated, my husband, then an NRA board member, and who, by the way, slept with a gun under his pillow until the day he died, made one of the toughest votes of his career. He supported the bill, though he didn't agree with everything in it.

We all have a job to do for our country. I don't want to take the guns away from any responsible gun owner. But the clock is ticking.

Who will be the next mass shooting? Who is the next target?

What do we want our American story to be?

We need to act now.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source