Moment of Silence for the Victims of the Florida School Shooting

Floor Speech

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Mr. NELSON. Mr. President, those were all our children. Those of us who are parents, you can imagine the parents of those children wondering what else can be done because yesterday a former student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Northern Broward County, Parkland, FL, walked onto the campus with a gas mask, smoke grenades, carrying an AR-15 assault rifle. He pulled a fire alarm, waited for students to come out into the hallway, and he opened fire. As a result, 17 families are grieving. Their worst fears have become reality. More than a dozen other students who were injured are in the hospital, and some of them are in critical condition.

At some point, we have to say enough is enough. At some point, we as a society have to come together and put a stop to this. This Senator grew up on a ranch. I have hunted all my life. I have had guns all my life. I still hunt with my son, but an AR-15 is not for hunting; it is for killing. Despite these horrific events that are occurring over and over, these tragedies have led so many of us to come to the floor and beg our colleagues to take commonsense actions that we all know will help protect our children and our fellow citizens from these kinds of tragedies, and we get nowhere.

When is enough going to be enough? Sandy Hook Elementary, 20 students killed--that wasn't enough. The Pulse nightclub in Orlando, 49 people killed by a terrorist--that wasn't enough. Las Vegas, 58 people killed--that wasn't enough. Just a year ago in the same county as the Parkland murders, Broward County's Fort Lauderdale airport, five people killed--that wasn't enough. Now this high school, 17 were killed. Some were as young as 14 years old.

When is enough going to be enough? This Senator has spoken to local officials on the ground. I have spoken to the superintendent of the school, who, in his own way, is going through the grieving process; I have spoken to the FBI; and I have spoken to the sheriff's department to make sure they have everything they need. When we are finished with the Dreamer legislation today, I am headed there. When I go to the hospital and see the families and the hospital victims, all I can think is, How many more times are we going to have to go through this? And those families are going to ask me: When is enough enough?

To those who say now is not the time to talk about gun violence because it is too soon, we don't want to politicize right after a tragedy--that is what is said over and over--I would ask: When is the time? If now is not the right time, when is the right time--after the next shooting or after the one that is going to come after that? Because these are not going to stop unless we change ourselves as a culture. How many more times do we have to do this? How many more folks have to die? When is enough going to be enough? Let's not hide from it. Let's have a conversation about this right now, not just about mental illness--that is part of it--and not just about protection in our schools, and that is part of it. Let's get to the root cause. Let's come together and help end this violence. Let's talk about that 19- year-old carrying an AR-15. Let's do what needs to be done. Let's get these assault weapons off our streets. Let's accomplish something on background checks.

My State passed a constitutional amendment--Florida, 1998--background checks have to be done in the purchase of a gun. It has never been implemented totally, and it has never been enforced--a simple background check. The terrorist who killed 49 people in Orlando at the Pulse Nightclub had been on the terrorist watch list. If we had a background check there--he wasn't on it, but maybe in a background check we ought to include those who have been on the terrorist watch list. Let's have a conversation about this.

Do you remember a couple of years ago there was a proposal on the floor that if you are on the terrorist watch list, you can't buy a gun? That is pretty common sense. We will not let them get on an airplane because we don't want them taking down a commercial airliner, but they don't have a restriction on buying a gun.

Let's get at the root cause of this issue. Let's do what we all know needs to be done. Let's do it now, not later. Let's not just talk about it, let's do something about it. Let's make what happened at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School a pivotal moment in this country's history, not because it was one of the largest mass shootings but, hopefully, because it was the last.

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