Gun Control

Floor Speech

Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, yesterday was the 74th school shooting incident since the horrific day at Sandy Hook in December 2012 where 26 people, including 20 children, were slaughtered. Only this time, it was my district.

Reynolds High School, the second-largest in the State of Oregon, was the scene of the tragic murder of 14-year-old Emilio Hoffman, a junior high school varsity soccer player and volunteer soccer coach. He was gunned down; a teacher was wounded, and the shooter, apparently an ex-student, dead.

I was struck by, just a few days earlier, when The Onion, the satirical newspaper, had their response to this recent spate of shootings that has shaken us all.

The Onion headline read:

``No Way To Prevent This,'' Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens.

The article read:

In the days following a violent rampage in southern California in which a lone attacker killed seven individuals, including himself, and seriously injured over a dozen others, citizens living in the only country where this kind of mass killing routinely occurs reportedly concluded that there was no way to prevent the massacre from taking place. ``This was a terrible tragedy, but sometimes these things just happen and there is nothing anyone can do to stop them,'' said North Carolina resident Samuel Wipper, echoing sentiments expressed by tens of millions of individuals who reside in a nation where over half the world's deadliest mass shootings have occurred in the past 50 years and whose citizens are 20 times more likely to die of gun violence than those of other developed countries. ``It is a shame, but what can we do? There really isn't anything that was going to keep this guy from snapping and killing a lot of people if that is what he really wanted.'' At press time, residents of the only economically advanced nation in the world where roughly two mass shootings have occurred every month for the past 5 years were referring themselves and their situation as ``hopeless.''

Well, the fact is we can do something about gun violence. It is a public health crisis, and with any other disease or health product that produced such widespread death and destruction, we would mobilize. First, we need to take some simple, commonsense steps like universal background gun checks. We have them in my State of Oregon. Obviously, it doesn't keep every senseless act of gun violence from happening, but it is often proven effective to keep weapons out of the hands of the mentally unstable and criminal elements.

Universal background checks are supported by an overwhelming number of Americans--over 90 percent by some estimates--and a strong majority, over two-thirds, of gun owners want to make sure there are no loopholes in the background check laws.

Recent events have also demonstrated what you will find out by visiting any jail, emergency room, or simply walking the streets of our communities: too many Americans are facing a mental health crisis. I am looking forward to working with Representative Tim Murphy on his H.R. 3717, Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act.

We have been discussing ways to advance some of the provisions in this Congress. Recently, my friend and colleague from Tucson, Congressman Ron Barber, himself a victim of gun violence which occurred during the tragic murders in Tucson--which included the serious wounding of our former colleague, Gabby Giffords--has also introduced legislation.

I am looking forward to being able to work with both Congressman Murphy and Congressman Barber, so that this Congress produces legislation to strengthen the opportunities to help people who are mentally ill.

We ought not to pretend that there is nothing we can do about these situations. Look at what happened with automobile safety. It has dramatically improved within a generation, once we stopped accepting the carnage on our roadways.

Auto deaths have been cut in half, serious injuries reduced, not with any single magic solution, but by patient, hard work involving step-by-step efforts to improve design and construction of automobiles, the education of drivers, and the enforcement of our laws.

Education, engineering, and enforcement can likewise make a big difference in reducing the epidemic of gun violence in America, and we certainly can do a better job of helping individuals and families in mental health crisis.

Let's not make a parody in The Onion be the reality of this Congress. Let's act. Tens of thousands of victims, past and future, including young Emilio Hoffman, demand our best efforts.

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