Addressing Gun Violence

Floor Speech

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Mr. COSTA. Madam Speaker, gun violence, as we know, is plaguing our Nation. In 2022, this year, there have already been 200 mass shootings in the United States. Think about that. It is absolutely horrific.

We ask ourselves, when is enough enough?

Our constituents across the country ask us, how many more innocent people must die before any reasonable, commonsense gun reform legislation can pass and add more protection for the American public?

Let's pass the Protecting Our Kids Act, which raises the purchasing age for semiautomatic weapons from 18 to 21, a commonsense idea. Let's also deal with the subject of ghost gun purchases and background checks. Again, commonsense ideas, and cracks down on gun trafficking and straw purchases.

If the combination of the Protecting Our Kids Act is something that you might find objectionable in some instance, we have individual pieces of legislation, resources for victims of gun violence, bipartisan background checks, assault weapons ban, legislation that would also go further to provide protection in condemning the horrific shootings in Atlanta, Georgia, and dealing with hate, bigotry, and violence against Asian-American and Pacific-Islander communities.

We also have legislation that would designate June 4th National Gun Violence Awareness Day. There is legislation that deals with disarming of hate, and to try to provide extreme risk protection for Federal firearms sales to include those who are subject to extreme risk protection that we know red-flag legislation would help protect us against.

So, there are a lot of things we can do. Will we totally eliminate the threats to the public? Of course not.

But there are commonsense ideas we can do to improve and increase safety for our schools, for our churches, and for people who are just going to shop for groceries one afternoon. These are things we can do, and we should do.

As chair of the Congressional Crime Survivors and Justice Caucus, I am advocating for resources for survivors of gun violence to cope with their trauma, whether it be in Sacramento or Fresno or anywhere else around this country.

I support the Second Amendment for responsible gun ownership. Let that be clear. But America deserves better, and I call on all House Members to join me in this effort. Let's put partisanship aside and take action to address the gun epidemic once and for all.

Madam Speaker, how much time do I have remaining?

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Mr. COSTA. Madam Speaker, I rise today also to celebrate Dia de Portugal, which is a significant holiday for Portuguese people all over the world.

My grandparents came to the United States from the Azore Islands in the late 19th century and the turn of the 20th century, 1897 to 1904. Illiterate, non-English speaking, like immigrants past and immigrants present, coming to America to have a better life for themselves. But they never, ever left their pride of their home country, Portugal, or their sense of culture, which lives in me today.

Portugal is one of America's longest and strongest allies, as it was the first to recognize the United States as an independent Nation after the Revolutionary War.

I am proud to be an original cosponsor of the AMIGOS Act, introduced by our colleague and Congressman David Cicilline. It would create more American jobs and increase investment in the United States by strengthening our bonds with Portugal. As the co-chair of the Portuguese Caucus, I think it is important that we continue to build on this relationship and the trade that already exists today.

I urge the Senate to pass this bipartisan legislation and, again, we will continue to work with other colleagues of ours who are part of our Portuguese-American Caucus to continue to advocate for mutual interests, not only for Portugal but for the United States and the Portuguese-American community.

``Happy Portugal Day.'' ``Feliz Dia de Portugal.''

Let us celebrate and let us remember that America is a stronger country because of our welcoming of immigrants past and present, and this is a part of that recognition.

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