National Gun Violence Awareness Month
Floor Speech
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Ms. MENG. Madam Speaker, I rise to commemorate National Gun Violence Awareness Month. Since 2017, National Gun Violence Awareness month has been celebrated annually in June. For too long and too often we, as a nation, have mourned with yet another community that was tragically impacted by gun violence. This is one community too many. Deaths from mass shootings in the U.S. are increasing at an alarming rate. After Sandy Hook, over 2,086 mass shootings have taken lives of Americans. From the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh to the gurdwara in Oak Creek; from Sandy Hook Elementary to Stoneman Douglas High School; from the Pulse Night Club in Florida to the music festival shooting in Las Vegas--these places and events have sadly become memorialized. And there are countless more victims of gun violence who never made it to our news cycle. Gun violence is indeed an epidemic. In addition to the lives lost, every bullet--every gunshot--rips apart the fabric of a community. For all those who were faced with gun violence--there is no going back. One such tragedy is one too many. Victims of domestic abuse are especially susceptible to gun violence. That is why we must do all that we can to protect survivors of dating violence and stalking. Currently, nearly one million women alive today have been shot or shot at by an intimate partner. Studies have also shown that women experiencing situations where domestic abusers have access to a gun are five times as likely to be fatally shot. Women of color suffer from an even higher risk of death in similar situations. We cannot become desensitized to the number of deaths in the news. We must act now. That is why I was proud to help pass on the floor of the House of Representatives H.R. 8, the Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2019, and H.R. 1112, the Enhanced Background Checks Act to ensure universal background checks and close the Charleston loophole that enabled the hate crime at Mother Emanuel Church. In the 100 days of Senate's inaction and refusal to allow these bills a vote on the Senate floor, 233 New Yorkers were killed by gun violence. This--and every incident of gun violence--is a travesty. No one should live their lives in constant fear. No parent should have to fear for their children as their kids go to school. No one should fear if their presence in a place of worship or a theatre makes them vulnerable. Madam Speaker, as we mark National Gun Violence Awareness Month, we must be even more emboldened to demand change now. We need to remind the nation--including our policymakers--of the lives that have been taken by gun violence and the urgent need for commonsense gun violence prevention. I call on my colleagues in the Senate to pass H.R. 8 today. While National Gun Violence Awareness Month occurs in June, we must fight every single day of the year to prevent the countless deaths caused by the lack of gun restrictions. Thoughts and prayers are meaningless without critical action. Enough is enough.
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