Impact of Gun Violence in America

Floor Speech

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Mrs. McBATH. Madam Speaker, I thank Representatives Jackson and Cherfilus-McCormick and the Congressional Black Caucus for convening this Special Order hour this evening to speak, in particular, about gun safety.

This past weekend, the United States surpassed 400 mass shootings in just this year alone. We have seen nearly double the number of tragedies than the amount of days that we have lived this year. It is an unmistakable reality that this grave challenge has only grown. Until we are fully dealing with this very dangerous gun culture that we are living in, it will continue to grow.

No amount of condolences will ever rectify the grief of loved ones. Week after week after week, I talk to survivors like myself who are crying out to this body. When will we act?

If faith without work is dead, then we must know that when thoughts and prayers end, meaningful action must begin.

My Federal red flag law bill mirrors a commonsense measure that is already in place in many States around the country, actually Republican States. It has allowed for loved ones to work with law enforcement to get guns out of the hands of those loved ones or people that they deem in crisis, and it will truly help those who see the first signs of tragedy, and they can help to prevent it.

These are effective laws that stop gun violence. We know that. Studies have proven that. Statistics have shown that in both Republican and Democratic States around the country. The American people are just calling on us to act. They are tired of waiting for us to act. They are calling on us to save lives.

Last year, President Biden did sign into law, last summer, the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. It is the most comprehensive gun safety legislation that this body has enacted in decades. We have been investing in State red flag laws, funding for States that want to enact these lifesaving measures.

Community violence intervention funding, I think everyone can agree we have got to get to the root causes of the violence. You pull out the root. You deal with the foundational problems that are causing the violence which causes gun violence.

We were able through the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act to define who is a bona fide gun seller. We were able to make it a Federal crime for gun trafficking and straw purchases. We were able to secure funding for mental health for our public schools but also for law enforcement. It expanded background checks for gun sales.

I have been doing this work in gun safety for the last 10 years since I lost my own son unnecessarily. Statistics have shown us again and again and again, and surveys have shown us again and again, that 97 percent of the American public--and this is including law-abiding gun owners--know that we have a public health crisis with the gun culture in this country, and they believe that we must place some commonsense measures on our existing gun laws.

Victims such as myself, survivors, live in daily angst just waiting for this body to act, waiting for us to do more. We are living in a violent culture. There are no safe spaces in America anymore. Survivors continue to live with the pain of having lost their loved ones unnecessarily and knowing that they, too, at some point in time may also be a victim of gun violence.

More guns in America do not make us safer. That is a misnomer. That is not the truth. Commonsense gun safety measures with respect to putting public safety over profit by our gun manufacturers and gun sellers, that is what the American people are crying out for.

In this country, a major industrialized nation, you are 25 times more likely to die here in the United States than anywhere else in the world. I pray every single day that this body will put their oath to protect and serve over the profit of this extremist gun culture that we are living in.

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