Congress Must Step Up and Do its Job
Floor Speech
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Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, last week we all woke up to the horrific news of violence in Baton Rouge, in Falcon Heights, and then the terrible events that unfolded in Dallas, where members of their police department were gunned down protecting individuals who were actually standing up to protest. The police officers stood between them and a dangerous person with a dangerous weapon, and many--five members--lost their lives.
This week we mark 1 month since the worst mass shooting in the history of our country. An act of hate, an act of terror that ended 49 lives. That is 49 friends, mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, sons, and daughters. They left behind communities of people who will never be the same without them.
One of those 49 was Tevin Crosby of Saginaw, Michigan, in my district. Tevin was just 25 years old. He was on a trip visiting family in North Carolina and then went to Florida to see some friends and colleagues. He was a young businessowner, a rising star, according to his friends. An employee at his company told the Saginaw News that Tevin was always smiling, always positive.
This pattern of violence can't be ignored. It demands change. We are better than this. We can do better than this. In this body, in this House of Representatives, we must do better. No one piece of legislation would prevent every shooting, but if it could prevent one, we should act.
Three weeks ago, I joined my colleagues on the floor of this House as we sat down to stand up and say that we had had enough. We demanded, and continue to demand, a vote on commonsense legislation to prevent gun violence.
When the majority adjourned in the middle of the night and went home, we didn't stop. We took our message to every corner of the country. At home in Michigan, I joined with my congressional delegation, my Democratic colleagues, to meet with our constituents and talk with them about what more we can do in Washington to prevent gun violence.
I heard Michiganders talk about what that sort of violence means in their own neighborhoods. Gun violence happens in mass shootings like we saw in Orlando, but it also occurs every single day across our country. In cities like my hometown of Flint, we see gun violence every single week on our streets, in our neighborhoods.
It is our duty in Congress to keep Americans safe and to work toward decreasing gun violence back home. Our constituents are literally dying because it is too easy for dangerous people to get their hands on a gun, and we have a moral responsibility to act.
I have been inspired by the people back in Michigan. I met with moms and dads, sons and daughters, sisters and brothers, faith leaders, elected officials, law enforcement officials, and community activists. They have all come together, joined their voices, calling for a vote on commonsense legislation to prevent gun violence.
When we go home, people are asking: Why aren't you voting to make sure suspected terrorists and dangerous criminals can't buy a gun? Well, the reason is simple. It is because the Republican majority is held captive by the gun lobby. It is that simple. The fact that they are petrified of a single organization keeps them from acting. We are sick of it, and we are not going to stand for it.
What we are asking for, what we are demanding, is a vote on just two commonsense pieces of legislation that have the support of more than 80 percent of Americans. People in Michigan have made it clear they want Congress to act, and I am sure this is true all across the country: act to prevent suspected terrorists from buying deadly weapons; act to make sure that, if a person purchases a gun, they should have to go through a background check no matter how they purchase that weapon.
We can't just express our grief on the floor of this House and then not act on real, meaningful action to prevent gun violence. We must step up as a Congress and do our job and pass strong, smart legislation that will keep our country safe.
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