Congressional Black Caucus Calls for Gun Safety Legislation

Floor Speech

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Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, I begin by thanking Congresswoman Cherfilus- McCormick and Congressman Jackson for holding the CBC Special Order hour on gun violence in America.

Last week, our Nation was shocked by the acts of horrific violence in Allen, Texas, where eight souls were lost unnecessarily.

How many killings must we endure?

We are here tonight to send a message that we must keep guns out of the hands of criminals and would-be terrorists, and we must expand background checks for individuals looking to purchase guns. We must pass some commonsense legislation that provides avenues to get guns off of our streets.

Legislation like my Safer Neighborhoods Gun Buyback Act would utilize Federal grants to get guns out of the hands of criminals. Programs like it have been proven to work all over this Nation, from coast to coast. We need to act on this bill and others like it to protect American lives.

It is unacceptable that countless Americans continue to die senselessly from gun violence and Congress stands idly by. They do nothing.

I came up with a phrase back after Newtown. The NRA, which is really who pushes this: The NRA stands for ``no Republican action.''

Here we are once again. Yes, we stood up for a moment of silence tonight once again. Then once the gavel hit the rostrum, everybody walked away and that was the end of that. My colleagues on the other side feel good after that, after they stand up and acknowledge that. But that is the extent of what they are willing to do, just stand up to honor these people for a moment. That is all they can spare. That is all they can give to the American people who are suffering, children suffering.

This issue is so pervasive that it impacts us everywhere: movie theaters, churches, schools, banks, post offices, businesses, everywhere. That is an epidemic. COVID was everywhere. That was an epidemic. This gun violence is everywhere. That is an epidemic.

But what do we do? Stand up, quiet for a moment, and then onto the next thing.

I see it at home in New Jersey in my district, New Jersey's 10th Congressional District. The 10th Congressional District, unfortunately, has one-third of the State's total gun deaths in New Jersey. I know my constituents know the destruction that gun violence inflicts. This is a problem that will continue to grow without swift legislation and action.

But my words are just going into the wind. My colleagues on the other side don't hear this. The American people want real action on gun violence. The NRA endorsed Republicans, which is practically the entire party, and has offered no substantive legislation to keep our communities safe from gun violence.

My colleagues are the majority now. Let's see what we implement. I can answer that now: nothing.

So many of our constituents are haunted by the gun violence that is taking their loved ones, and that is why Democrats are in favor of stronger gun laws to keep these weapons out of dangerous hands.

We are not asking to take anybody's guns, but we can't have enough mindset to say: Hey, there is a problem here? I don't know where my colleagues on the other side are listening and getting this from. Eighty-seven percent of this country says that we need stricter gun laws, but you don't hear them.

Too many lives have been stolen, too many children killed. Can't Republicans feel the pain of the survivors of these victims' families?

The American people are calling for passage of meaningful legislation to address gun violence. They are calling for action to stop mass killings in this country. They are calling to stop the taking of innocent children's lives in their schools.

I couldn't imagine sending my children to school these days and wondering if they are going to make it home. I am sending them there to be educated. I am not sending them there to do armed drills. What happens if there is an active shooter? That is what they are learning?

I look at my colleagues across the aisle and ask: Is there nothing that we can do together to stop this?

When children cannot go to school without fear of being shot, when innocent Americans cannot go to a nightclub or a movie theater or church without fear of being executed, then it is time for a new approach. The Congressional Black Caucus, with our Democratic colleagues, stands ready to deliver that approach.

Mr. Speaker, I want to read to you from a letter sent to me by a student at Cranford High School in Cranford, New Jersey, named Alessandra, who puts into words the thoughts of most Americans. She wrote: ``Although the Second Amendment of the Constitution protects the right to gun ownership, this does not mean that Congress cannot pass more laws to restrict the kinds of firearms and people buying them. As a high school student from Cranford High School, this issue affects me daily as the number of school shootings increases.''

Mr. Speaker, I will close and say that we have a responsibility to our constituents, like Alessandra. We have a responsibility to ensure our Nation's laws keep us safe and to ensure that we hear their voices and act on their behalf.

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