Gun Violence

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. MOULTON. Mr. Speaker, I stand here today as someone who supports the Constitution, including the Second Amendment. I stand here today as someone who believes in protecting our national security. In fact, I have risked my life to defend it. I stand here as someone who supports the will of the American people because that is my job.

In my previous job, I was an infantry officer in the United States Marine Corps. Over the course of four tours in Iraq, I used guns every single day to do my job. In fact, guns saved my life. I do not want to take away guns from me or any other law-abiding American citizen. But I do want to make sure that terrorists, criminals, domestic abusers, and the dangerously mentally ill do not get guns they shouldn't have.

All we need to do to accomplish that are two simple, commonsense things: background checks for all sales of guns with no loopholes that criminals and terrorists can exploit; and, second, if you are too dangerous to fly, you are too dangerous to buy.

These simple, commonsense gun safety measures are supported by nine out of 10 Americans. So if we are going to do our job here in Congress, if we are going to follow the will of the American people, if we are going to protect our national security, and if we are going to continue to uphold the Constitution, then we should do these things.

The reason that they are so important is because of the Americans who have been killed by senseless gun violence.

Mr. Speaker, the following is a list of mass shooting victims from just 2016 alone:

Antoine Bell, age 17.

Raymon Blount, age 29.

Ira Brown, age 20.

Joshua Steven Morrison, age 18.

Randy Peterson, age 64.

Sean Marquez, age 19.

Marvin Douglas Lancaster, III, age 21.

Jennifer Jacques, age 42.

Ernesto Ayber, age 29.

Carlos Bates, age 29.

Isaiah Major, III, age 43.

Dwight Hughes, Jr., age 21.

Trisha Nelson, age 28.

Armando Curiel, age 17.

Raul Lopez, age 19.

Angel Lopez, age 20.

Officer James Lee Tartt, age 44.

Manuel Ortiz, age 28.

Mary Lou Nye, age 62.

Dorothy Brown, age 74.

Barbara Hawthorne, age 68.

Rich Smith, age 53.

Tyler Smith, age 17.

Emma Wallace, age 37.

The Buckner family, including mother, Kimberly; father, Vic; 18-year- old daughter, Kaitlin; and 6-year-old daughter, Emma.

A deputy sheriff, Corporal Nate Carrigan, age 35.

Renee Benjamin, age 30.

Josh Higbee, age 31.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source