Progressive Caucus:Addressing Gun Violence

Floor Speech

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Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN. I thank the gentlewoman for her remarks, and I associate myself with the concerns raised through them.

Mr. Speaker, my heart is heavy right now. I never thought that I would be in Washington representing the people of the 12th District in the State of New Jersey, but never in my wildest imagination did I think that I would be on the floor of this body mourning the nine Americans murdered for the color of their skin in the midst of worship, at a church that was part of the fight for our civil rights.

In what has become a disturbingly routine order of events, we watch, horrified, as the helicopter circles a church, a movie theater, a college campus, or a school. A breaking news headline parades across the screen, keeping track of the developing details. The next day, we debate the mental stability or motive of the shooter. We ask where they purchased the weapon. We ponder the merits of changing our Nation's laws to keep more Americans safe. And then, inevitably, we do nothing, and the cycle repeats.

The rate of mass shootings has steadily risen since 2000. President Barack Obama has himself addressed the Nation for at least a dozen of these incidents since the beginning of his first term. We are the only developed nation in the world that has this problem, and we need to wake up and ask ourselves why.

We are told that more guns will keep us safe. We are told that requiring background checks for every purchase, with no exceptions, is too intrusive. We are told that our constitutional right to bear arms should cover every weapon, from a simple handgun to a machine gun, whose only purpose is to cause massive and irreparable harm.

Mr. Speaker, we are here tonight because we know that these statements are, at the very least, misleading and, more likely, outright falsehoods.

We stand together on behalf of the millions of Americans who agree that the shooting in Tucson, Arizona, that wounded one of our own should have been our last; that the lives lost in Aurora, Colorado, should have been the last; that the babies we lost in Newtown, Connecticut, should have moved us to change the ease with which we allow access to firearms.

We are asking our colleagues on both sides of the aisle whether they are willing to make this newest addition to a painful list the very last. I hope when we close our remarks this evening that every one of us will see the need for change.

Mr. Speaker, it is now my pleasure to yield to a fellow freshman, who has introduced legislation today that would keep firearms out of the hands of criminals, the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Beyer).

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Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for those remarks.

Mr. Speaker, last Wednesday, Dylann Roof walked into Emanuel AME and stole the lives of nine innocent Americans. In the days since, somehow we have lost track of the real problems. We keep talking about a flag, a flag that is a symbol of many our Nation's most glaring problems, but it is only a symbol.

I don't want to get too far off track, but I do want to make something perfectly clear. Symbols may matter, but they don't matter as much as the actions of police who consistently treat black men and women with clear and biased disregard. Symbols don't matter as much as the mandatory sentencing laws that have propped up a prison industry with hundreds of thousands of Black men. Symbols don't matter as much as the predatory loan structures that put Black homeowners underwater and decimated the Black middle class, practices that banks were never truly held accountable for.

So, alongside those calls to take down the flag, I would appreciate calls to acknowledge that persistent racism is not the only problem here. Pervasive and unnecessary gun violence is also one of our Nation's most pronounced flaws.

Mr. Speaker, let me say this: I fully support the permanent removal of the Confederate flag. It represents one the darkest stains on our Nation's history. It represents baseless hate, disrespect for the civil rights and freedoms this Nation was founded upon, and enduring mistreatment in communities of color.

But if we are really about the business of ending discrimination once and for all, we need to enact policies that will counteract everything that that flag represents: job training that ensures all of our communities are qualified for the jobs of the future; education that lets our students succeed, regardless of where they live; and affordable housing that exists outside of the urban centers, in the communities that can offer folks the jobs they need to get on their feet and to climb to the middle class.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).

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Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Texas. She has always been a source of information and history. She has always tied our history into our current situation as she has always been someone who has motivated us to think sincerely about the issues of the day and how we can become part of the solution.

Mr. Speaker, in closing, I just want to reiterate that I associate myself with every recommendation that this gentlewoman has put forth here. I do indeed believe that we need some sensible gun control legislation. I have even introduced legislation that makes it more difficult to secure ammunition. I do think that that is a very important component of creating a safer environment in this country for all citizens.

I think also that we need to take a serious look at what this type of domestic terrorism is doing and whether or not we are devoting the type of resources that are necessary to ensure that our people are as safe as they can be.

I think that we are very involved and very concerned and very proactive in looking at potential lone wolves, jihadists, ISIS recruitment activities, and things of that ilk, but I question whether or not we are sufficiently engaging in oversight, interventions, and creating tools in order to look at the sites that kind of generate the willingness of people such as Mr. Roof and his desire to do what he did.

So I hope that in consort with what Mr. Thompson had earlier released that we are willing to hold hearings on the issue of domestic terrorism. I hope that we are willing to look at policies and procedures that create opportunities and jobs and safer communities and good public education.

Mr. Speaker, I thank you for your indulgence. I yield the balance of my time.

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