Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act--Continued--

Floor Speech

Mr. BLUMENTHAL. Madam President, today we mark the 6-month anniversary of a date that none of us will ever forget because it transformed our lives, it transformed America, and it certainly transformed Connecticut and the community of Newtown.

We commemorate the 6-month anniversary of that unspeakable, unimaginable tragedy that cut short the lives of 20 beautiful, innocent children and six dedicated, courageous educators.

It transformed America in so many ways. It changed our lives irrevocably and, I hope, put us on a trajectory toward changes in our laws that will prevent this kind of horrific, unimaginable tragedy from ever happening again. Our challenge right here in this body, on this floor, is to make sure we learn from it, that we act on it, and that we keep faith with those families, as well as the Newtown community and all of our country that lost so much that day.

December 14 began like so many other days for the parents of Newtown, CT. They took their children to school, kissed them goodbye, and went about their day with plans for play dates, Hanukkah and Christmas holiday parties, and presents that they would give to those children for those holidays. They planned snack breaks and holiday parties. They wrapped presents. Just hours later, I stood with them and saw them emerge from the Sandy Hook firehouse having learned that those children would not be coming home that night.

I arrived in Newtown as a public official within hours of that shooting. But
what I saw was through the eyes of a parent--grief-stricken, panicked parents, tears streaming down their faces--who came hoping to reunite with their children. Many parents did reunite. Children were brought to all of the parents who gathered at the firehouse, and they left with their children--until the families who realized that their children would not be coming home.

I saw those families who lost beautiful, young children. Some of them are here, along with adults--dedicated, courageous adults--families of educators who died themselves trying to save their children. I will never forget the cries of grief, anguish, pain, and disbelief.

Every parent in his or her DNA has something fundamental. It is about trust and caring for children, making sure they come home at the end of the day when they go to school; that they are kept safe in some very basic and fundamental way. Society shares that trust. Society failed in that trust.

We will never forget the loss and heartbreak of that tragic day in Sandy Hook. But we also know that in the face of evil there was tremendous goodness and heroism. There were genuine heroes: the first responders who braved the unknown, hearing gunfire, charging into that school, and stopping the shooting through their courage because the shooter turned that gun on himself. There were the brave educators, teachers, administrators, and school psychologists who threw themselves in front of bullets or tried to save their children and perished themselves. Then members of the community who came together in support of the families and who themselves, along with first responders, are continuing to recover. They exemplify the quintessential values of this quintessential New England town that make us proud to be American.

Thirty-two members of the victims' families at the massacre wrote to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. Through their unspeakable pain and suffering, they asked Congress to honor the memory of their loved ones by supporting measures to stem and stop the epidemic of gun violence.

They wrote, ``In the midst of our anguish we are compelled to speak out to save others from suffering what we have endured.''

These brave families have come to Washington to tell their stories. They sat in this very gallery. They met with colleagues. Some of our colleagues refused to meet with them. I urged them to share some of their hurt and meet with them, to hear their stories. We owe them tremendous respect and gratitude. They enabled us to come to this point where we are close to making fundamental changes in the law.

But in April, that day of the vote was a day of shame because the Senate turned its back on the families of Newtown while some of them watched in this very gallery. How to explain to those families or try to explain how 90 percent of the American people could be in favor of reasonable, commonsense measures that we proposed--background checks on all firearms purchases and a ban on illegal traffic and straw purchases, on assault weapons, and on excess capacity magazines--how 90 percent of the people could be in favor of those kinds of commonsense measures, most especially the background checks, yet the Senate failed to pass it.

Those families have been resolute and resilient at every turn. Mark Barden, whose son Daniel was killed 6 months ago at Sandy Hook, wrote:

We are not defeated. We will always be here because we have no other choice.

Despite their profound and harrowing loss, those parents, husbands, wives, sisters, brothers, grandmothers have kept faith and they have inspired us to keep faith. They uplifted us and their determination has meant the world to colleagues who have heard them, and as an example of grace under pressure and courage and strength, they have refused to give up.

They will not give up, nor will we. We are coming back for another vote. We will not allow that vote to be the final one. It may be the first one, but it is not the final one, and we will win the last vote, which is the one that counts.

In the meantime many of my colleagues have stood up to the special interests and most especially the NRA, which was accustomed to having its way and holding sway in this body, in Congress, just as a schoolyard bully would. My colleagues have stood up to that bully once and will do it again. This time we will win.

What happened in Newtown could happen anywhere in America. If it happened there, it can happen in any town or city, and it has, in fact, claimed the lives of 4,900 people since Newtown. Gun violence has claimed their lives. I am constantly shocked and saddened by how quickly that number rises each time I speak about this topic. Just last week a man armed with semiautomatic AR-15 assault rifle and more than 1,300 rounds of ammunition, opened fire at a Santa Monica college and killed five people.

The stories about Newtown, about all of the massacres since and before--whether Columbine or Virginia Tech or Arizona and Tucson--affirm that these laws can help save lives. These laws can help save lives.

Six months ago I left the firehouse at Sandy Hook to attend a vigil at a church in Newtown. The church was St. Rose of Lima, presided over by Father Bob, Msgr. Robert Weiss. The church was filled. It was a powerful and moving experience. People listened to the service through the windows and the PA system outside.

I said that evening the world is watching Newtown. In fact, for 6 months the world has watched Newtown. It has seen a story of unparalleled and unprecedented courage and fortitude. Now we will continue to watch Newtown. But the world is also watching the Senate. We need to be worthy of the courage and strength that Newtown has demonstrated in moving ahead.

I thank the majority leader Harry Reid and all of my colleagues who have determined that we will bring this bill back, not only to honor the memories of the Newtown victims and keep faith with them but also to make this country better and safer, worthy of these children, beautiful and innocent at the time of their passing with all of their future ahead of them. There were educators who worked for their whole professional lives, trying to help children such as these young people.

Out of that grief and pain we can make America safer and stronger. We can make America better. That is the potential legacy of these lost lives, a better and safer America. If we achieve it, they will not have died in vain.

I yield the floor.

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