Majority Leader Schumer Floor Remarks On Continuing Bipartisan Gun Violence Prevention Legislation Talks
Washington, D.C. – Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today spoke on the Senate floor regarding the ongoing bipartisan talks on legislation to address our nation’s gun violence epidemic. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks, which can also be viewed here:
This year we have already seen more mass shootings in America than we have had days in the year. More than one a day on average. The prevalence of guns, their ease of access, and the hateful motivations of mass shooters have all mixed into a toxic brew that is tearing America apart. People are asking, what is going on? And why can’t Congress protect us?
Yesterday our House colleagues heard from those affected most: the parents of a young girl murdered in Uvalde, a student who played dead by covering herself in her friend’s blood, and the mom of a Buffalo survivor who painted the gruesome picture of bullet holes on her son’s neck, back, and leg.
These were harrowing, gut-wrenching testimonies. That Congress has not acted in decades in response to these acts of violence is shameful.
It used to be different: about 30 years ago, I was the author of the Brady bill and worked with Republicans and law enforcement to get strong gun safety laws passed. That was a different era, but the lesson from back then remains clear today: the right laws can make a real difference in reducing gun deaths. Because those laws were on the books, it’s very likely that tens of thousands of people are alive and healthy who would not have been.
Right now, the Senate is trying to break that streak of inaction – the 30-year streak of inaction since we were able to pass Brady and the assault weapons ban – by working towards meaningful legislation on gun violence.
Yesterday a bipartisan group of Democrats and Republicans met again to continue working towards a bipartisan compromise.
This morning, my colleague Senator Murphy reported that the group is making good progress, and they hope to get something real done very soon.
As soon as the bipartisan group comes to agreement, I want to bring a measure to the floor for a vote as quickly as possible.
The overwhelming consensus of our caucus, of gun safety advocates, and of the American people is that getting something real done on gun violence is worth pursuing, even if we cannot get everything that we know we need.
The work of curing our nation of mass shootings will continue well after this debate concludes. But at this moment, we have a moral obligation to try for real progress, because taking tangible steps to reduce gun violence is critically important.
Americans are sick and tired of going through the same grieving cycle over and over again, only for Congress to do nothing. They are enraged that even after shootings in Sandy Hook, Parkland, San Bernardino, El Paso, Boulder, Pittsburgh, Atlanta, and so many others, that nothing – nothing – has changed.
We hope this time around, something will change at last.
I hope that very soon we can see a deal come together. I encourage my colleagues to keep their talks going so we can act on it very quickly.
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