Ghost Guns
Floor Speech
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Ms. SCANLON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about ghost guns. They have been called the Ikea of firearms. You can order them online, and in less than an hour, have a firearm as deadly as any sold by a gun dealer.
These fully functioning, untraceable firearms can be bought without a background check, and they are wreaking havoc on our communities.
That is why they have become the weapon of choice for people who would otherwise be banned from purchasing a gun, including known violent offenders, gun traffickers, and increasingly, teenagers, whose digital literacy enables them to purchase ghost gun kits freely online.
Prior to 2019, Philadelphia police discovered five or fewer handmade firearms per year during criminal investigations; but by 2022, 575 ghost guns turned up in investigations, and that number has only grown.
Last summer, the mass shooter who killed five people in the Kingsessing neighborhood had two ghost guns in his possession when he was arrested.
Recently, Delaware County was rocked when a 15-year-old killed another 15-year-old using a ghost gun.
These guns are reaching into every community, including the heartland, and not just our big cities.
According to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the number of ghost guns seized by law enforcement has skyrocketed in the last decade from less than 3,000 in 2017 to nearly 26,000 in 2022 alone.
They have become a lucrative business for gun traffickers.
In the last couple years, district attorneys in three suburban and rural counties near Philadelphia have busted gun traffickers assembling and selling ghost guns for profit.
In one instance, the trafficker had set up shop across the street from the county courthouse.
This has to stop.
We hear all the time from lawmakers who oppose gun safety laws that we should focus on violent crime. Well, that is exactly what H.R. 4992, the Ghost Guns and Untraceable Firearms Act of 2023, would do.
There is no reason why anyone would want an untraceable gun that can be purchased without a background check, except to use it in a crime.
Chairman Jordan likes to say that bad guys aren't stupid, they are just bad. But this bill has been waiting for consideration since it was referred to the House Judiciary Committee nearly a year ago.
In the absence of Federal action, cities like Philadelphia, Baltimore, and L.A. have been forced to undertake creative legal strategies like suing ghost gun manufacturers to block them from selling these guns without background checks.
However, that is far from enough to stem the tide.
The White House also stepped up to issue a regulation that would require ghost guns to be traceable and subject to background checks, but that regulation has been challenged in the Supreme Court.
Get this: The argument is that the White House cannot regulate guns because it is Congress' job to regulate guns.
It is time for Congress to stop arming people who should not have access to guns.
Members of Congress need to make a choice. Will they stand with Americans who want to live free from gun violence, or will they stay in the pocket of ghost gun manufacturers? Americans--our children--deserve to know where their Representatives stand. Honoring the Legacy of Marian Anderson
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Ms. SCANLON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about the legacy of Marian Anderson. The world knows the story of Marian Anderson, the legendary singer who, after being barred from performing at the DAR's Constitution Hall here in D.C. because of her race, instead sang at an open-air concert at the Lincoln Memorial before more than 75,000 people and a radio audience in the millions.
What is not so well known is that she was a proud daughter of Philadelphia. Born in 1897, she lived there most of her life, almost 100 years, and she is buried in the Eden Cemetery just outside of Philadelphia in Delaware County.
Marian Anderson's home in south Philadelphia, which she purchased in 1924 and where she entertained famous Black musicians including Louis Armstrong, Bessie Smith, Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington and the like, is a museum celebrating her legacy as an outstanding artist, a champion of modern civil rights, and a true Philadelphian.
Between 1925 and 1965, Marian Anderson performed opera, spirituals, and American classics in major venues across the United States and Europe.
She sang at the White House in 1939, and in 1955 she became the first Black soloist to perform at the Metropolitan Opera.
She served as a delegate to the U.N. Human Rights Committee and a goodwill ambassador for the United States Department of State.
But the acclaimed contralto's talent was never fully recognized in her native country because of the color of her skin, until now.
On June 8, 2024, 85 years after she sang on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, the Philadelphia Orchestra is renaming its principal performing venue in the heart of Philadelphia as Marian Anderson Hall. This will be the first major concert venue in the world to honor Marian Anderson, and it is fitting that this honor will be bestowed in her hometown by the renowned Philadelphia Orchestra, which has its own history of cultural diplomacy as a proud global ambassador for our Nation.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Source