Protecting Our Kids Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. HOYER. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

This is an emotional debate. It is an emotional debate because we lose, on a daily basis, family members, neighbors, friends, and fellow citizens to a bullet or multiple bullets--killed by gun.

I do not subscribe to the theory that some promote that the more guns we have, the safer we will be. I believe that is somewhat like the O.K. Corral theory that if you have a faster gun, then you will be safe. Eventually, somebody will have a faster, bigger, and more surprising gun than we.

Madam Speaker, like all Americans, I found the mass shooting at Uvalde, Texas, heart-wrenching, tragic, and unacceptable. Although the news was excruciating to watch, it was anything but surprising given our history with deadly firearms. Sadly, we didn't even have time to mourn the 19 children and two teachers who were killed in Uvalde before news broke of another mass shooting--over and over and over and over and over and over again.

At some point these statistics have to move us to respond in an effective way. My friend from North Carolina suggested hardening the schools. We have hardened this Chamber over the objections of some when we know that no gun should be in this Capitol other than those possessed by law enforcement, Capitol Police.

According to the nonpartisan Gun Violence Archive, there have been as many as 33 mass gun violence incidents in the 14 days since the attack on Robb Elementary. We have more guns in this country than any other nation on Earth. The Second Amendment guarantees that we have a right to a gun, but the Supreme Court in Heller said: But there are limitations to that right.

I strongly support an individual American's right to have a gun in his or her home--their home--to protect themselves and their business. But the Court said: Be reasonable.

In the past week alone, 7 days, we have seen mass shootings in Chattanooga, Tennessee, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Tulsa, Oklahoma. Not even 10 days before the shooting in Robb Elementary, a domestic terrorist killed 13 people in a grocery store in Buffalo, New York.

In every corner of this country, Americans are begging--begging-- Congress to protect our kids and our people. Many of us like to say, This is the people's House.

The people are speaking to us and crying out for action.

A gentleman who spoke before me said something about saying prayers. I believe in prayer. But I also believe the admonition that John Kennedy said when he said: ``Let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on Earth, God's work must truly be our own.''

Today, in this House--the people's House--we need to act to protect the people.

Madam Speaker, I want to direct your attention to this chart again. Look at the numbers--hundreds of deaths. In addition to the unconscionable trauma these attacks inflicted on the parents, children, wives, husbands, brothers, sisters, and other loved ones of the victims, they have one thing in common: the perpetrator got the gun legally.

In Tulsa, Oklahoma, the perpetrator got the gun approximately 3 hours before he shot Dr. Phillips. He was filled, obviously, with passion, hate, and anger at the pain that he apparently was suffering physically and perhaps emotionally.

So what did he do?

He went down and quickly got a gun--an AR-15 to be exact--and went and shot not only Dr. Phillips but three other people in the process. Those are 285 deaths we could have prevented if we had commonsense gun laws in place.

Of the 45,000 people who died from gun violence last year alone--we are talking about making people safe--45,000 deaths--they are not safe--how many would have also been spared had our laws been stronger?

Frankly, I, myself, would favor reinstituting the 1994 assault weapons ban for which I voted. And I lamented the fact that when my Republican colleagues were in charge of the House, Senate, and the Presidency, they allowed that law to go out of existence. None of us can speculate what the cost of that was, but there is no doubt in my mind there was a cost. In fact, that bill reduced mass shootings then, and it would do so again now.

There is much I believe we ought to do as the Representatives of the American people in this House. The House, though, has already taken action on two very critical gun safety measures supported by 9 out of 10 Americans. We don't have 9 out of 10 Americans who are Democrats in this country. Neither side does. But if you have any credence in polling data that says what Americans think, 9 out of 10 think that comprehensive background checks should be the law of the land. I don't know a commonsense argument against that.

We passed the Charleston loophole. This gentleman who bought that gun 3 hours or thereabouts before he killed Dr. Phillips would have had time to cool off and to perhaps have second thoughts, to perhaps have saved the life of a doctor whose job it was to save lives. We sent those bills over, and Senate Republicans, however, have refused to allow even debate on either of these bills--even debate on either of these bills that are overwhelmingly supported by the American people.

I know that my Republican colleagues are as disturbed by the murder of children as Democrats are. I believe that. I hope that is the case, but I believe it. But I am confounded by the unwillingness to respond in an effective way even on asking that everybody get checked out, so we know they are not criminally insane or a felon or an abuser or on the terrorist watch list; but it is no to comprehensive background checks just to see if somebody is a danger to themselves or others.

I know that our colleagues across the aisle shed tears when their constituents die from gun violence, as we do. This should not be a Democratic or Republican issue but an issue of our common humanity and our common sense. If we work together, we can achieve a safer America.

We have seen promising signs from the Senate that a bipartisan agreement may be possible. I surely hope it is. But this House will not and should not wait to act. That is why we are voting on this Protecting Our Kids Act today.

This legislation is, in my view, long overdue. I participated in a sit-in on this floor to try to galvanize the Congress. It didn't work. Sadly, it didn't work. To the disappointment of the American people, it didn't work.

This comprehensive bill is the product of tireless efforts by many of our colleagues to address issues that contribute to our gun violence epidemic.

Thanks to Robin Kelly, the Protecting Our Kids Act will crack down on gun traffickers who take guns, where? Into the big cities and spread them around. Now, they sell them; they don't give them away for free. But it is the traffickers who break the laws--not of Chicago, but perhaps don't break the laws of where they bought multiple guns for those who can't buy guns.

Similarly, Representatives Cicilline and Espaillat pushed to include provisions that would regulate elusive ghost guns. Now, I chaired the Subcommittee on Treasury, Postal Service, and General Government that oversaw the Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms Division, and we couldn't even make sure that ordnance--bullets--could be traced because the NRA was opposed.

Representative Titus ensured that we would ban bump stocks, a weapon component that allowed a gunman to kill 60 people in Las Vegas in 2017 and wound hundreds more.

Was he a hunter? Was he a sportsman?

Additionally, this bill will restrict high-capacity magazines which enable shooters to inflict maximum destruction in the minimum amount of time, thanks to language included by Representative Deutch. Because of Chairwoman DeLauro, Chairwoman Jackson Lee, and Representative Slotkin, this bill also protects our kids from gun violence at home by implementing gun storage safety standards.

Common sense and common purpose protects our kids.

This act also includes Representative Anthony Brown's measure to raise the legal age for purchasing assault weapons and shotguns from 18 to 21. You can buy an AR-15, apparently, or some other multiple-shot, quick-shot weapon, but you can't buy a drink in many jurisdictions.

Is that common sense?

This legislation never would have come together without the leadership of Chairman Nadler. I thank the chairman for his leadership, and I thank the committee for their work on this bill. I thank Chairwoman Jackson Lee of the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security, and I thank Chairman Thompson of the Gun Violence Task Force.

This bill, as well as additional legislation from Representatives McBath and Carbajal that will be considered subsequently on Thursday, takes major steps forward to make our communities and our children safer.

Is it perfect?

Will it stop all the killing?

No, it won't. We know that.

Is there a perfect answer?

No.

Is making schools safer bad?

No. We support that.

I don't know that we support making them into armed camps, as some would suggest, because I think that would make them less safe in many respects.

So I urge all of my colleagues to put our country, our constituents, and our kids first. Let us rise above party and partisanship and special interests as we seek to do what is right, what is necessary, and what an overwhelming majority of the American people are looking to Congress to achieve.

Isn't that what we are supposed to do, represent the people?

I am hopeful we can find a bipartisan path forward to enact long- overdue reforms to make our communities safer from gun violence because a bullet doesn't care about your race, your faith, your age, your orientation, or any other factor.

And yes, people do care about those things and manifest it in the worst way possible. But they do it with an instrument that will allow them to kill a lot of people very quickly.

The American people care what we do here today. The American people care that their Congress is doing everything possible to keep them safe, to keep our children safe. The American people care.

Each of us today has a chance to show that we care. God's work on Earth must truly be our own. Vote for this bill. Make our kids and communities and people safer.

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