Agriculture Reform, Food, and Jobs Act of 2013--Continued--

Floor Speech

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Mr. MURPHY. Madam President, first let me congratulate Senator Flake on his maiden speech. It was very thoughtful and I think a challenge to this body to get back to the work it has been given by the American people.

I come to the floor to once again talk about the 4,670 victims of gun violence we have seen across this country since December 14.

December 14 is a date that everyone in Connecticut knows but, as time goes by, maybe fades from the memories of other Americans. That is the day in which a deranged young man walked into Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT, and gunned down 20 6- and 7-year-olds, in addition to 6 teachers and education professionals who were charged with taking care of those kids. That is a day none of us will ever forget.

We came to the floor of the Senate in the weeks and months that followed with the intention of passing legislation that would make sure we did everything within our power to assure that another Sandy Hook didn't happen somewhere else in this country. But we also were endeavoring to do something about the all too routine gun violence that has plagued our cities and our suburbs--frankly, almost every community in this country.

This is a stunning number. Since December 14 of last year, in just over 6 months, 4,670 people have died from gun violence, and during that time the Senate and the House of Representatives have done nothing to try to change that reality. I will at least give this body credit; we debated a bill in the Judiciary Committee and we brought it to the Senate floor. Because of the rules of this place, unfortunately, 55 votes was not enough to get a gun violence package passed that would have imposed criminal background checks on thousands of gun purchases that now operate outside that system that would have made it a Federal crime to illegally traffic in guns, that would have placed more resources in the hands of mental health professionals. At least in the Senate we tried to do it. The House, on the other hand, has taken no steps to try to cut down on the 4,670 deaths all across this country just in the last 6 months.

What I have tried to do every week since the failure of that bill is to come down to the floor of the Senate. Instead of talking over and over about the policy implications or the different ways and paths we can get to a gun violence package, instead, I think it is important to talk about the victims. Who are these 4,670 people? Because their stories should be the ones that move this place to action.

One such story as that of Matthew Tarto, age 16, who died just a few days ago, May 24. He was killed implausibly by his father. His 52-year-old father killed his 16-year-old son in an apparent murder-suicide.

Matthew was an amazing young man. He was a backup offensive lineman for his high school, John Curtis Christian School. He was a superior track and field athlete. He was an honor roll student. His friends called him a happy-go-lucky kid. They said he always had a smile. His football coach said:

This kind of thing is unbelievable, that something like this could happen. The only way we know how to get through this is with deep prayer. I just feel so heartbroken, not only for his family but for the kids, his friends and his teammates.

We talk a lot about the fact that it is important to change gun laws. There are others who say that all of our emphasis should be on early intervention; that our mental health system should be the sole focus of this place so we can stop these murders before they happen. But as we know, often we can't see these things coming.

The case of Matthew Tarto is such an illustration. Neighbors said they never saw any signs of trouble from this household. In fact, one neighbor remembers seeing the father and the son taking walks together through the neighborhood just days and weeks before this happened.

Matthew was an amazing guy: honor roll student, great athlete, friendly, happy-go-lucky kid, but in an awful murder-suicide, he was taken from us, as well as his father.

Another 16-year-old 3 days beforehand was gunned down in the Back of the Yards neighborhood of Chicago. Angel Cano was killed with a gunshot wound to the head. He was pronounced dead on the scene, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office.

His father had brought his oldest son to Chicago from Mexico in 2004 in search of a better life. His father said his son just desperately wanted to be someone. His son, at 16 years old, had dreams of becoming a singer or a professional soccer player. He was always down at the local soccer fields playing soccer, endlessly, teaching other young kids how to be better soccer players. At 16, he still had this dream. Yet apparently on the way back from the soccer fields that evening, he was gunned down. The police have said it may be gang related, but the family says that Angel was never, ever affiliated with any gangs.

Then, lastly, the story of Jamica Woods. Ms. Woods was 37 years old. The night before she died, on May 20, her boyfriend uploaded pictures onto his Facebook page of a shotgun, along with pictures of a shotgun shell, that he had recently bought at Walmart. He uploaded the pictures because he had already set about a plan to kill his girlfriend the next night.

According to police, Ms. Woods had taken out an emergency protective order against her boyfriend last December, but she had never gone about the process of finalizing it. She was in the process of kicking her boyfriend out when she got killed. Had she just taken a few more steps, it is possible he would have never been able to buy that gun in the first place. If she had taken those steps to fill out a protective order and if that order had been filed and if the Walmart had run a background check and found that protective order, it is possible she would still be alive today.

Frankly, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of men and women across this country who are alive today because of that law--because of that law that came so very close to saving Jamica Woods: a protective order being filed due to domestic violence, a gun purchase being stopped because of that order.

One of the reasons we have that law on the books today is the advocacy of Senator Frank Lautenberg. Senator Frank Lautenberg, who died this week, made it his life's cause to try to make the streets of his State of New Jersey safer. He was advocating right up until his final days on the floor of this Chamber to enact a ban on high-capacity magazines such as the one that killed 20 little 6- and 7-year-olds in Connecticut.

But he was successful in passing through this Chamber a piece of legislation that keeps guns out of the hands of people who have been convicted of domestic violence. It is a law that has worked. It is a law that has saved the lives of hundreds, if not thousands, of men and women all across this country. It is a reminder that this place can do something about the 4,670 people who have died since Newtown due to gun violence.

Frank Lautenberg knew this place had the power to save lives by enacting commonsense gun violence legislation--in his case, just a simple rule that if someone has been convicted of domestic violence, maybe they shouldn't get their hands on a gun.

Senator Lautenberg's work is a reminder that whether it is next month, later this year or next year, we still have work to do to try to honor the memories of the thousands of victims of gun violence all across this country.

I yield the floor.

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