Majority Leader Schumer Floor Remarks On Senate Democrats’ Upcoming Effort To Pass The Assault Weapons Ban To Take Action Against The Deadly Gun Violence Crisis In The U.S.

Washington, D.C. – Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today spoke on the Senate floor on how Senate Democrats will attempt to pass the Assault Weapons Ban tomorrow by unanimous consent in an effort to combat mass shootings and gun deaths in America. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks, which can also be viewed here:

Tomorrow, I will come to the Senate floor with my Democratic colleagues to ask unanimous consent to pass the Assault Weapons Ban.

If Republicans do not object to our unanimous consent request to pass the ban, the Senate can pass a tried-and-true measure to reduce mass shootings and gun deaths in America.

When I led the fight for the Assault Weapons Ban in 1994 in the House along with our late colleague, Senator Feinstein, who led the charge in the Senate, it passed with bipartisan support because both sides recognized the need to rid our streets of these weapons of war.

After the ban went into effect, the numbers proved the obvious: banning deadly assault weapons saves lives, plain and simple. The number of deaths from mass shootings and gun incidents both fell after the ban took effect.

Today, a decade after the expiration of the Assault Weapons Ban, gun violence is running rampant in America.

Families can no longer enjoy a night at the bowling alley or go out to dinner without fear of a gunman with an assault rifle.

People can no longer stop by the bank in the morning or spend a Saturday at the shopping mall without that thought in their heads that maybe there’s some gunman out there with an assault rifle.

That’s why Democrats will come to the floor tomorrow to try and pass the Assault Weapons Ban and other gun safety legislation.

And I hope my Republican colleagues find the courage to stand with us, stand with the American people, stand with families and kids who are sick and tired of living under the threat of gun violence.

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