Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2015

Floor Speech

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Mr. Chair, here I stand in support of an amendment to the Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies Appropriation Act. Specifically, the proposed amendment would strike Section 539 of this bill to allow funding to be used to mandate reporting to the Justice Department the name of an individual who has purchased multiple long-barreled arms in five days. The Republicans attempted to disallow the Justice Department from keeping these records, even though these records are crucial in cracking down on gun trafficking and straw purchasing.

I stand in the wake of another unconscionable mass shooting. A recent wound not yet healed, our nation still mourns the lives that were cut short by a mentally unstable gunman. I stand not only as a Member of Congress but also as a concerned United States citizen, outraged by the fact that no measures have been taken to defend our nation's people against gun violence. I stand just as many of my distinguished colleagues have, to implore the Republicans to finally pass gun control legislation. I also stand in frustration, knowing that the Republicans will decry such acts of violence as the recent UC-Santa Barbara massacre but will refuse to take action to protect our nation's innocent citizens.

I will do everything in my power to convince my colleagues on the other side of the aisle that it is our duty, as Members of Congress, to defend our nation's people while also upholding the second amendment of our Constitution.

Dare I invoke the names of the hundreds of victims of mass-shootings in the last few years? Should I mention the alarming number of Americans murdered by guns every day which averages to more than 30 people? Or perhaps I should comment on the startling statistic that 140 Americans are taken to the emergency room every day to be treated for a gun assault.

Of course, Republicans are aware of the thousands of people who are injured and murdered by guns every year. They know the toll that gun violence is taking on the American people. I am sure they also acknowledge that their pillar of conservatism, the 40th President of the United States, Ronald Reagan, supported gun control.

Yet, Republicans still attached a gun rider to this bill to bolster their NRA ratings at the risk of the safety of the American people. They don't seem to care that less than a week ago, an individual documented for struggling with mental illnesses legally purchased a firearm and proceeded to use said firearm to deprive families of their loved ones. Well, according to the FBI, more than 400 people were murdered in my home state of New York in 2012 alone and I am outraged.

It is in the honor of the victims of the UC-Santa Barbara tragedy and their families that I support this amendment. It is in the honor of those lost in other tragedies, who are not forgotten, and all victims of gun violence and their families who have wept at funerals that I support this amendment.

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