Reinstate Limit on High-Capacity Magazines

Floor Speech

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Ms. DeGETTE. Mr. Speaker, last year set the record for the highest number of mass murders with a firearm in more than a decade. In fact, 2023 marked yet another year where there were more mass shootings than days in the year.

These events continue to retraumatize our communities and our Nation because no community has been untouched by this deadly epidemic.

One common denominator in these mass murders is the use of large capacity ammunition feeding devices, or high-capacity magazines. These magazines hold 30, 40, or even 100 rounds of ammunition, and they have been used in all 10 of our Nation's deadliest mass shootings. High- capacity magazines increase a shooter's ability to kill or injure large numbers of people quickly.

One event that I still remember starkly is the shooting in Aurora, Colorado, at the movie theater, which is just a few miles from my home. One single perpetrator used an assault rifle and a 100-round magazine to fire 65 shots within just minutes, killing 12 people and injuring 70 others.

Despite the fact that many members of the audience for that movie were either Active-Duty military or veterans who were trained to respond to a situation just like this, they were unable to respond because the volley of bullets was simply too extreme. The high-capacity magazine allowed that shooter to continue firing, pinning people down as shot after shot rang out.

There are so many more examples of this terrible, terrible destruction: Columbine, also right outside my district; Dayton; Las Vegas; Parkland. No other developed country experiences this level of violence from firearms.

Now, I recognize there is not one single piece of legislation that will completely end gun violence, but something must be done. In mass shootings with four or more people killed between 2015 and 2022, high- capacity magazines led to more than twice as many people being killed and nearly 10 times as many people being wounded per incident on average.

It makes sense if you think about it because if you have just a few rounds of ammunition, then those highly trained soldiers and veterans in that movie theater audience would have been able to stop the shooter, tackle him, and disable him after he stopped shooting. Instead, when you can shoot up to 100 rounds in rapid fire, this is not possible.

High-capacity magazines were designed for war. They weren't designed for hunting. They weren't designed for self-defense. Yet, they continue to be used against our fellow citizens in our hometowns and communities.

Experts agree that reinstating the limit on high-capacity magazines would be an effective step in protecting our communities.

Today, Representatives Titus and Schneider, along with the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force and I, are announcing that we are filing a discharge petition to bring the Keep Americans Safe Act up for a vote so we can reinstate the U.S. ban on high-capacity magazines.

My bill would prohibit the sale or transfer of any high-capacity magazine capable of holding more than 15 rounds of ammunition. This is legislation that has been passed by this Chamber two times 2 years ago as part of the Assault Weapons Ban and the Protecting Our Kids Act.

It is our obligation as Members of Congress to keep the American people safe and to protect our communities. Now is the time to reinstate the limit on high-capacity magazines.

The petition will now be filed at the desk, and I urge all of my colleagues to sign it. It will take 218 signatures to bring this bill to the floor and to move us one step closer to eradicating the terrible ravages of gun violence for the American people.

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