Remarks By Congressman Anthony G. Brown On His Raise The Age Act

Statement

Congressman Anthony G. Brown (MD-04) delivered the following remarks on the floor of the House of Representatives in support of his Raise the Age legislation, included in the Protecting Our Kids gun violence package.

View the full clip, here.

A transcript of Congressman Brown's remarks as prepared is below:

"Thank you Madam Speaker. Again and again, we hear a common refrain when a mass shooting happens. A young man, typically under the age of 21, is able to legally purchase a semiautomatic rifle and murder innocent people. We saw this in Uvalde, we saw this in Buffalo, and we saw this in Indianapolis in 2021. In fact, six of the nine deadliest mass shootings since 2018 were by young men who should have never been allowed to purchase these weapons in the first place."

"Right now, you have to be 21 in this country to buy a handgun. But only need be 18-years-old to buy a semiautomatic weapon capable of committing unspeakable tragedies from the same store.

"I served in the military. I trained with these weapons. I know what they can do. These weapons of war have no place in our neighborhoods, let alone in the hands of an untrained 18-year-old boy.

"The answer is simple -- Raise the Age needed to purchase these weapons to 21, in line with the age needed to purchase handguns. We have bipartisan support for this action. Democrats, Republicans, gun safety advocates, law-abiding citizens and responsible gun owners, teachers and veterans; because it's commonsense.

"Shooting after shooting we ask ourselves what more we could have done Whether one action could've saved the lives of those children, those mothers, fathers, grandmothers, and neighbors. I'm done with that. It's time for action.

Raising the Age to buy these weapons won't solve our nation's gun violence epidemic overnight. But if we can make it just a little harder for someone to get their hands on these deadly weapons. If we can save even just one life or one community from this carnage and grief, it will be worth it.

"I urge my colleagues to support my legislation and Raise the Age to buy these deadly weapons. Enough is enough. Thank you."

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