David’s Law

Madam Speaker, as Chair of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Homeland Security, and Terrorism, and a senior member of the Homeland Security, and Budget Committees, I rise in strong support of H. Res. 275--Condemning the horrific shootings in Atlanta, Georgia, on March 16, 2021, and reaffirming the House of Representative's commitment to combating hate, bigotry, and violence against the Asian-American and Pacific Islander community.

Madam Speaker, we all awoke earlier this year to the horrific news that in suburban Atlanta, Georgia, a 21-year old angry white man murdered 8 persons at three Asian massage spas.

Among the innocent victims were 6 young Asian American women who worked in the establishments.

The suspected perpetrator of these brutal crimes has been arrested and charged with 8 counts of murder.

According to the Atlanta Police Department, the killer is reported to have told police that he has an issue, what he considers a `sex addiction,' and `sees these [Asian massage spa] locations as something that allows him to go to these places' and `it is a temptation for him that he wanted to eliminate.'

Adding insult to injury, a Georgia sheriff's captain, acting as spokesperson for law enforcement investigators, characterized the killer as ``having a really bad day.''

Madam Speaker, since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, there has been a significant increase in harassment and violence against the Asian American community.

Unfortunately, this is not new; there is a long history of racism again Asian Americans, especially during times of social and economic unrest.

Throughout American history Asian Americans are often blamed for the emergence of pandemics and diseases, even if the sickness originated far outside the Asian American community.

The COVID-19 pandemic is no exception, as American citizens, and residents of actual or perceived Chinese descent, have received intense and unjust scrutiny, violence, and harassment as perpetrators associate them with the cause of the pandemic and resulting social and economic turmoil.

And the racist practice of the 45th President of always referring to the coronavirus as the ``China Virus,'' or ``Kung Flu'' certainly contributed to, and inflamed, an already dangerous climate for persons of Asian descent.

Asian migration to the continental United States can be traced as far back as 1800's.

Despite their long residence in the country, throughout American history Asian American communities have been stigmatized as perpetual foreigners.

These xenophobic sentiments are especially exacerbated in times of social and economic discontent, leaving Asian American communities vulnerable to white supremacist and racist violence and harassment.

Especially notable to today, historically anti-Asian racism often associates Asian communities with illness--leaving Asian Americans particularly vulnerable to medical scapegoating and violence during epidemics.

Xenophobia and racism against the Asian American community continued well into the 20th century.

Most infamously, in 1942 President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which ordered the forced internment of 120,000 Japanese Americans during World War II.

While American immigration policies' still forbade the free migration of Asian immigrants into the country, thousands of Japanese-Americans had lived in the United States for decades, many of whom were second and third-generation Americans.

As the 1980 investigation and report of the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians would later conclude, Japanese internment was primarily driven by racism and xenophobia rather than a legitimate security threat.

Even though nearly two-thirds of Japanese internees were American citizens, Japanese-Americans were considered as a collective to be disloyal, un-American, and a security risk.

In 1982, amid a downturn in the U.S. automobile industry that was blamed on competition from Japanese companies, Chinese American Vincent Chin was beaten to death by two white autoworkers, one allegedly saying, ``it's because of you little m-f-s that we're out of work.''

Chin's assailants never spent a day in jail and instead were only sentenced to probation and fined and the resulting outrage from the Asian American community served as a galvanizing force to organize for Asian American civil rights and advocacy, and it remains a central rallying cry and example of injustice for contemporary Asian American activism.

In the aftermath of the September 11th attack on the United States, South Asian, Muslim, and Middle Eastern Americans increasingly became the targets of violence and discrimination.

In the week following the terrorist attack, media outlets reported 645 bias incidents targeting people perceived to be Muslim or of Middle Eastern descent.

At the time, the Bush Administration condemned the harassment and urged respect for the Muslim and South Asian community, with President Bush himself stating that the perpetrators of these racialized attacks should be ``ashamed.''

Then-Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Robert Mueller reiterated President Bush's sentiments, stating that: ``vigilante attacks and threats against Arab-Americans will-not be tolerated.''

In the years since, the Department of Justice has investigated over 800 incidents of violence, threats, and harassment against Arab, Muslim, Sikh, and South Asian Americans, and others of perceived Middle Eastern descent.

Sparked by xenophobic rhetoric framing fault for the coronavirus around its country of origin, Asian Americans, notably those of Chinese descent or assumed Chinese descent, have suffered increased rates of violence, harassment, and intimidation over the last year.

Led by the racist rhetoric of the 45th President, targeted xenophobic and anti-Asian sentiments have exacerbated the scapegoating and targeting of the Asian American community.

Between March 16 and March 30, 2020, the worst president in history referred to COVID-19 as the ``Chinese virus'' more than 20 times, claiming that his phrasing was not racist at all, but rather accurate because the virus came from China.

He even had the word ``Corona'' crossed out of his press conference notes, replaced with ``Chinese'' handwritten above it, and he also called the virus ``Kung Flu'' at a rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma on June 20, 2020 then again at a church rally in Phoenix, Arizona on June 24, 2020.

Examples of additional violent physical assaults against the Asian American community over the last year include:

1. A sixteen-year-old boy was sent to the emergency room after being physically attacked at his high school by an assailant who claimed the boy had COVID-19 simply because he was Asian.

2. An 81-year-old woman was punched in the face and lit on fire outside her home.

3. A woman was kicked, punched, and hit with an umbrella in a subway station in New York.

4. A man and his ten-year-old son were followed to a bus station by a man who was yelling and cursing at them before eventually hitting the man over the head.

5. A 61-year-old man was slashed across the face with a boxcutter on the subway in New York City. His injuries required him to receive nearly 100 stitches.

6. A woman was doused in a caustic chemical as she took out the trash; resulting in chemical burns on her face, neck and back.

7. A 52-year-old woman was shoved to the ground and hit her head on a metal newspaper stand.

8. A 51-year-old man was beaten with his own cane at a bus stop. His injuries were so severe, he lost part of a finger.

Further, in addition to these violent incidents, data shows that general and daily harassment of Asian Americans has increased in the last year, examples of which include:

1. A couple found a note pinned to their door that read: ``We're watching you f---- c---- take the chinese virus back to china. We don't want you hear [sic] infecting us with your diseases!!!!!!!!!!--Your friendly neighborhood.''

2. A woman was cursed at while taking out her trash, a man walking by yelling ``F---- Chinese'' and ``Yea, I'm talking to you, Chinese B-- --.''

3. A woman was yelled at, followed, and spit on as she walked to her gym.

4. A man was yelled at while grocery shopping, the customer in front of him at the checkout line shouting at him ``It's you people who brought the disease.''

Finally, Madam Speaker, in my home state of Texas, about this time a year ago, a Burmese American family was shopping at a Sam's Club in Midland, Texas when a man repeatedly hit the father on the back of his head and slashed at his face.

Later, the assailant returned to continue to attack the family-- stabbing their two-year-old child and slashing their six-year-old across the face.

In light of increasing attacks on Asian Americans, several members of Congress have called for a stronger hate crime tracking law to add to the existing legal framework of hate crime legislation.

Congresswoman Chu, the Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, has called on this consider new hate crime tracking legislation, noting that all of us must be vocal in rejecting xenophobia and racism.''

And I am pleased to be an original cosponsor of the March 25, 2020 resolution introduced by Congresswoman Meng of New York and passed by the House on September 17, 2020, condemning anti-Asian sentiment related to COVID-19 and calling on federal law enforcement officials to work with state and local officials to investigate hate crimes and incidents against the Asian American community.

In my hometown of Houston, Texas, we know all too well the fear, horror, and heartbreak inflicted on members of vulnerable and marginalized communities when they are targeted by hate crime violence.

That is why I have reintroduced H.R. 133, the David Ray Hate Crimes Prevention Act or ``David's Law,'' to amend the federal criminal code to impose penalties for willfully causing bodily injury to any person or, through the use of fire, a firearm, or an explosive device, attempting to cause such injury, whether or not acting under color of law, because of the actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, or disability of any person, where the offense is in or affects interstate or foreign commerce.

This legislation is named in honor of David Ray Ritcheson, a constituent and high school student, who was brutally beaten and left for dead simply because his assailants hated his national origin.

Madam Speaker, hate crimes are among the worst atrocities that exist in modern day society.

A hate crime is defined as the incidence of violence motivated by the actual or perceived race, color, national origin, relation, sexual orientation, gender, and disability of the victim.

Unfortunately, hate crimes are underreported for several reasons, including fear and intimidation.

As most of us in this Congress know all too well, hate-motivated violence disrupts the tranquility and safety of our communities, impedes the movement of members of targeted groups, and prevents members of targeted groups from purchasing goods and services, obtaining, or sustaining employment, and achieving the American Dream.

The mass shootings in Georgia are one part of a nationwide pattern of Asian women's being disproportionately targeted in hate incidents, and this Resolution proclaims loud and clear that the United States Government is committed to combatting hate, bigotry and violence against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.

For this reason, I urge all of my colleagues to rise with me in support of H. Res. 275--Condemning the horrific shootings in Atlanta, Georgia, on March 16, 2021, and reaffirming the House of Representative's commitment to combating hate, bigotry, and violence against the Asian-American and Pacific Islander community.

[From Buzzfeed New, Apr. 1, 2020]

A Man Who Allegedly Tried To Kill an Asian American Family Because of

the Coronavirus Could Face Hate Crime Charges

(By Julia Reinstein)

The incident is just one in a surge of racist attacks that

Asian-Americans have faced during the coronavirus pandemic.

A man who allegedly tried to kill an Asian American family

of three because he believed they were spreading the

coronavirus at a Sam's Club in Texas could face hate crime

charges, the FBI told BuzzFeed News on Wednesday.

Jose L. Gomez, 19, stabbed the three people on March 14 at

the Midland, Texas, Sam's Club before being taken down by a

store employee, who saved the family's lives and was injured

in the process, police told BuzzFeed News.

Gomez was then taken into custody by an off-duty Border

Patrol agent. He was charged with three counts of attempted

capital murder and one count of aggravated assault with a

deadly weapon.

Bernie Ramirez, the Border Patrol agent, told CBS7 he

initially approached Gomez and family with the intention of

breaking up what he thought was a fight over scarce goods.

Ramirez said ``credit is due'' to Zach Owen, the store

employee who stopped Gomez by putting him in a chokehold and

suffered stab wounds to the hand in the process.

``He went into a knife fight bare-handed,'' Ramirez said.

``He took control of the individual, and he disarmed him. If

Zach had not been there, things could've gone really badly.''

Ramirez did not immediately respond to a request for

comment. The father in the family declined to comment.

Gomez allegedly stabbed the three ``because he thought the

family was Chinese, and infecting people with the

coronavirus,'' the FBI stated in a document obtained by ABC

News.

An FBI spokesperson told BuzzFeed News they were unable to

comment on the document but confirmed that the case is being

treated as a possible hate crime,

According to the FBI report, federal law enforcement

officials are warning there could be a surge in hate crimes

against Asian Americans.

``The FBI assesses hate crime incidents against Asian

Americans likely will surge across the United States, due to

the spread of coronavirus disease . . . endangering Asian

American communities,'' the document reportedly states. ``The

FBI makes this assessment based on the assumption that a

portion of the US public will associate COVID-19 with China

and Asian American populations.''

The Texas stabbing was just one of the many racist attacks

Asian Americans have been facing amid the coronavirus

pandemic's rise in the US.

On March 11, a woman in New York punched another woman for

not wearing a face mask and ``made anti-Asian statements and

fled the location on foot.'' In February, a 16-year-old boy

was sent to the hospital after being physically attacked by

bullies who accused him of having the coronavirus. One couple

in Minnesota got a note on their door that said ``we're

watching you'' and ``take the Chinese virus back to China.''

President Donald Trump has deliberately referred to COVID-

19 as the ``Chinese virus'' on multiple occasions, which

critics have seen as a way of scapegoating China and, in

turn, inciting hatred and harassment of people of Asian

descent. The World Health Organization has urged people not

to attach locations or ethnicity to the virus to prevent

social stigma.

When questioned, Trump defended his use of the term,

``It's not racist at all, no. Not at all,'' Trump said.

``It comes from China.''

The FBI spokesperson told BuzzFeed News the agency ``will

use all authority granted to us by federal law to investigate

and hold those who commit violent acts accountable for their

actions.''

``During the COVID-19 pandemic, we want to remind everyone

that any violent criminal act against any person because of

their race, ethnicity or national origin is a hate crime,''

the spokesperson said. ``This includes violence toward Asian

Americans or individuals from East Asian countries.''

Mr. Speaker, I stand here in the name of Mr. Garza, whose daughter in Uvalde bled out, Buffalo, Tulsa, Parkland, Santa Fe, and Sandy Hook. I stand here with the recognition of my chairman, Mr. Nadler, and the years and decades--mine, over two decades--of fighting for gun laws.

As I hold up the number of gun laws that I introduced over 27 years-- pages and pages--I can say to the Senate that in this bill, the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, they have built on our legislation.

My bill, the Mental Health Access and Gun Violence Prevention Act, which will increase access to mental health treatment, is in this bill. The Violence Against Women Act, the boyfriend loophole, is in this bill. The Protecting Our Kids Act and the issues dealing with raising the age, bump stocks, and ghost guns are yet to be done, but we can stand on this because it was bipartisan.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a list of gun violence prevention legislation.

Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas Gun Violence Prevention

Legislation

117th Congress

H.R. 127--Sabika Sheikh Firearm Licensing and Registration

Act

H.R. 2585, ``Juvenile Accountability Block Grant

Reauthorization and the Bullying Prevention and Intervention

Act''

H.R. 121--Grin Violence Reduction Resources Act of 2021

H.R. 125, Gun Safety: Not Sorry Act of 2021

H.R. 130, Kimberly Vaughan Firearm Safe Storage Act

H.R. 135, Accidental Firearms Transfers Reporting Act of

2021

H.R. 137, Mental Health Access and Gun Violence Prevention

Act of 2021

H.R. 133, David Ray Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2021

116th Congress

H.R. 49, Santa Fe High School Victims Act

H.R. 4080, Kimberly Vaughan Firearm Safe Storage Act

H.R. 4081, Sabika Sheikh Firearm Licensing and Registration

Act

H.R. 4082, Accidental Firearms Transfers Reporting Act of

2019

115th Congress

H.R. 57, Accidental Firearms Transfers Reporting Act of

2017

H.R. 62, Gun Violence Reduction Resources Act of 2017

H.R. 1982, Mental Health Access and Gun Violence Prevention

Act of 2017

H.R. 1983, David Ray Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2017

H.R. 4268, Gun Safety: Not Sorry Act of 2017

H.R. 5088, No More Atrocities with Guns Act or the No MAGA

Act

H.R. 7016, Protect Lives and Stop the Imminent Chaos Act of

2019--the PLASTIC Act

114th Congress

H.R. 4315--Mental Health Access and Gun Violence Prevention

Act

H.R. 4316--Gun Violence Reduction Resources Act

H.R. 47--Gun Storage and Safety Devices for All Firearms

Act

H.R. 3125--Accidental Firearms Transfers Reporting Act

H.R. 5470--Stopping Mass Killings by Violent Terrorists Act

H. Amdt. 48 to H.R. 5 Student Success Act

H.R. 68--Tiffany Joslyn Juvenile Accountability Block Grant

Program Reauthorization Act of 2016

113th Congress

H.R. 65, Child Gun Safety and Gun Access Prevention Act of

2013

H.R. 2665, To ensure secure gun storage and gun safety

devices

H.R. 2585--Juvenile Accountability Block Grant

Reauthorization and the Bullying Prevention and Intervention

Act of 2013

112th Congress

H.R. 4315, Mental Health Access and Gun Violence Prevention

Act of 2016

H.R. 4316, Gun Violence Reduction Resources Act of 2016

H.R. 65, Child Gun Safety and Gun Access Prevention Act of

2013

H.R. 2665, To ensure secure gun storage and gun safety

devices.

H.R. 227--Child Gun Safety and Gun Access Prevention Act of

2011

H.R. 83--Bullying Prevention and Intervention Act of 2011

H.R. 5770--Juvenile Accountability Block Grant

Reauthorization and the Bullying Prevention and Intervention

Act

H.R. 6019--Juvenile Accountability Block Grant

Reauthorization and the Bullying Prevention and Intervention

Act of 2012

111th Congress

H.R. 257--Child Gun Safety and Gun Access Prevention Act of

2009

H.R. 6542--Bullying Prevention and Intervention Act of 2010

110th Congress

H.R. 256--Child Gun Safety and Gun Access Prevention Act of

2007

109th Congress

H.R. 246--Child Gun Safety and Gun Access Prevention Act of

2005

108th Congress

H.R. 76--Child Gun Safety and Gun Access Prevention Act of

2003

107th Congress

H.R 70--Child Gun Safety and Gun Access Prevention Act of

2001

H. Amdt. 187--107th Congress

106th Congress

H.R. 3987--Child Gun Safety and Gun Access Prevention Act

of 2000

Mr. Speaker, people are dying every day, and it is obvious that through the legislation--The New York Times said here are the shootings, pages and pages, that could have been stopped by stricter gun laws.

Mr. Speaker, this article has the mass shootings where stricter gun laws might have made a difference.

We understand that this legislation is only the concrete beginning. My friends are going to attack that, but the American people are 70 percent for banning various weapons that are assault weapons. They are 70 percent and more for extreme risk protection. They are 70 percent and more for understanding that we need an extended time for purchase of these guns. And, yes, they are supporters of the Kimberly Vaughn Safe Storage Act, which is a storage bill that says that we need to get people to prevent suicide and to store their guns.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 2938, the ``Bipartisan Safer Communities Act.''

America is experiencing a crisis of gun violence.

In America, gun violence threatens our sense of safety and security everywhere we go: where we shop for groceries; where we worship with our families; and where we enjoy movies, dancing, outdoor festivals, and concerts with friends.

I and many other members of Congress have introduced commonsense gun safety legislation to make communities safer--over and over, year after year, Congress after Congress. Until now, we have been unable to pass any meaningful legislation.

After more than twenty years of drafting and repeatedly introducing gun safety legislation, like my bill, the Mental Health Access and Gun Violence Prevention Act to increase access to mental health treatment and promote reporting of mental health information to the background check system, I am encouraged by the steps we are taking today but wish we did not have to lose so many lives to reach this point.

For years, I fought to close the boyfriend loophole--most recently in the Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization of 2021, which passed the House last year.

Finally, through the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, we will ensure abusive dating partners convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence offenses are prohibited from purchasing or possessing firearms for at least five years.

Two weeks ago, this body proved to the American people that a compromise could be reached on sensible gun safety measures when we passed the ``Protecting Our Kids Act.'' That legislation, which I introduced along with Chairman Jerry Nadler and Representative Mike Thompson, encompassed decades of our hard work and proved to be the catalyst for the bill we are considering today.

Like the Protecting Our Kids Act, this bill would establish new federal offenses that specifically prohibit gun trafficking and straw purchasing to thwart guns moving through the iron pipeline, keeping them off the street and out of the hands of criminals.

While our bill would have raised the age at which a person could purchase a semiautomatic rifle from 18 to 21--a concept I proposed in my No More Atrocities with Guns Act of 2018--this bill would enhance the background check process and investigative period for purchases of rifles by anyone under the age of 21 and further strengthen the background check process by clarifying who is engaged in the business of selling firearms and, as a result, is required to run background checks.

We also passed the Federal Extreme Risk Protection Order Act of 2021 recently that would give loved ones the ability to seek an extreme risk protection order before our federal court when an individual presents a serious threat to themselves or others by use of a firearm and provide funding to enhance, promote, and implement similar laws at the state- level, which Safer Communities will do.

With the passage of this bill, we make a significant step forward in the fight to end gun violence. But we must keep working to find reasonable solutions to other problems that contribute to gun violence in this country that are not addressed in this bill.

We must ban deadly bump stocks, ghost guns, and high-capacity magazines as we endeavored to do in the Protecting Our Kids Act. We must ban assault weapons.

We must institute a seven-day waiting period for purchases of the deadliest of instrumentalities such as silencers and body armor, which I have pressed for in my own bill, the Gun Safety: Not Sorry Act of 2017 and 2021, and assault weapons if we do not ban them.

We must pass legislation that encourages safe firearm storage practices, like my bill the Kimberly Vaughan Firearm Safe Storage Act that was included in the Protecting Our Kids Act to expand the requirement that safe storage devices be made available at the point of sale, which will train new gun owners on the value of safe storage and remind seasoned gun owners that safe storage goes hand-in-hand with responsible gun ownership.

23 years after Columbine when I first began introducing gun safety legislation, and hundreds of thousands of gun deaths later, we continue to mourn the unnecessary loss of life. Enough is enough.

While this bill may not solve all the problems that contribute to the epidemic of gun violence, we must pass it without delay. Far too many lives have been lost for us to wait any longer.

I support this meaningful, bipartisan legislation and urge my colleagues to do the same. Let us save lives and protect the children of America--together.

The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act would inject $4.5 billion in critical funding into various state agencies and programs through the Department of Justice, Department of Health and Human Services, and Department of Education to:

Expand community mental health services for children and families, and fund school-based mental health services and supports;

Implement evidence-based school violence prevention efforts; and

Encourage and support evidence-based, community violence intervention programs and crisis intervention services, including the implementation of vital Red Flag Laws--which have been proven to reduce the firearm suicide rates in states that have already enacted such laws.

In America, gun violence is the leading cause of death among children. In America, an average of 70 women are shot and killed by an intimate partner every month. In America, mass shootings occur increasingly each year--and every day, 316 people on average are shot. In America, 45,979 deaths were by suicide in 2020--more than half of those deaths were by firearm.

Each day parents send their children off to school, from elementary age to college, praying now more than ever that they will return to them safe and sound.

19 elementary school-aged children and two teachers in Uvalde, Texas; 10 people going about their daily lives at a market in Buffalo, New York, all killed by 18-year-olds wielding AR-15-style weapons of war. And 4 people murdered at a hospital in Tulsa, Oklahoma with another assault weapon purchased only hours earlier.

In my home state of Texas, the El Paso Walmart shooting--22 dead; Sutherland Springs--26 dead; Santa Fe High School--10 dead; Fort Hood in 2009--13 dead; and the Dallas shooting of police--5 officers dead and nine others injured.

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 1204, I call up the bill (S. 2938) to designate the United States Courthouse and Federal Building located at 111 North Adams Street in Tallahassee, Florida, as the ``Joseph Woodrow Hatchett United States Courthouse and Federal Building'', and for other purposes, with the Senate amendments to the House amendment thereto, and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I have a motion at the desk.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous material on S. 2938.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I would be remiss if I did not comment on the decision of the Supreme Court, just minutes ago, to revoke the constitutional right to abortion, a right that millions of Americans have relied upon for half a century.

Worse, Justice Thomas has indicated that this is merely the beginning of a radical, rightwing effort to roll back other rights, including the right to contraception, the right to marry whomever we choose, and the fundamental right to privacy.

We should observe that the same Justices telling us today that questions about reproductive rights must be left to the States, told us just yesterday that the States cannot be trusted to regulate modern firearms, weapons that were never dreamed of by the Framers of the Second Amendment. History will prove these activists wrong on both counts.

But today, Mr. Speaker, we take a historic first step toward ending the epidemic of gun violence in this Nation, the only developed Nation with this problem.

We come to this moment after the tragic loss of so many innocent lives: 10 African Americans in Buffalo, targeted because of their race; 19 young students and 2 teachers in Uvalde, just a few days short of their summer vacations; scores more lost in other mass shootings too numerous to mention; and over 100 more Americans killed every day in gun violence that never makes the headlines.

No piece of legislation can ever bring these lives back. No legislation can make their families or their communities whole. But we can act to keep others from facing the same trauma they have endured.

A few weeks ago, I was proud to bring forth the Protecting Our Kids Act,

which took a bipartisan and comprehensive approach to ending gun violence. I am pleased that the Senate incorporated portions of that bill into their own legislation.

I wish there was more. I wish we could say we were doing everything we could to prevent another parent from losing their child to gun violence, but I am proud to be making an important start today.

This cannot be the last step, but we also cannot let another day go by without taking action to make our communities safer and to keep even one more family whole.

Recently, I have turned to a particular teaching in the Talmud:

Whoever takes one life, it is as if he kills the entire

world; and whoever saves one life, it is as if he saves the

entire world.

This legislation includes provisions that will save many lives. Like the Protecting Our Kids Act, it includes funding to implement extreme risk protection laws and the prohibition on straw purchasing. It also strengthens background checks for those under 21, makes more sellers responsible for conducting background checks, takes steps to address the boyfriend loophole, and provides significant funding for programs that will make our communities safer.

Today, we will send legislation to the President's desk, for the first time in decades, that will make progress toward ending the scourge of gun violence.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi), the distinguished Speaker of the House.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee), a member of the Judiciary Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentlewoman from Texas.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lofgren), a member of the Judiciary Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), the distinguished majority leader of the House.

Mr. Speaker, when the previous speaker refers to using guns to protect tyranny, he is talking--whether he realizes it or not-- about stopping tyranny by turning those weapons against American troops.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the distinguished gentleman from California (Mr. Thompson), who is the chairman of the Gun Violence Task Force.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from Florida (Mr. Deutch).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from California (Mr. Lieu), who is a member of the Judiciary Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from California (Mr. Correa), who is a member of the Judiciary Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Connolly).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Crow).

Mr. Speaker, may I ask how much time remains on each side.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentlewoman from Michigan (Mrs. Dingell).

Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentlewoman from Michigan.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Langevin).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentlewoman from Illinois (Ms. Kelly).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentlewoman from New Jersey (Ms. Sherrill).

Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentlewoman from New Jersey.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from Nevada (Mr. Horsford).

Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentleman from Nevada.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Clarke), from the great Empire State.

Mr. Speaker, how much time remains on each side, please?

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentlewoman from Ohio (Mrs. Beatty).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from New York (Mr. Meeks).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentlewoman from New Mexico (Ms. Leger Fernandez).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from New York (Mr. Higgins).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Foster).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from California (Mr. Gomez).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Perlmutter).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentlewoman from California (Ms. Chu).

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, the difference between this country and other countries is only that in this country do we have mass shootings and mass murders of children. No other country has them.

We know from the experience in New Jersey, as Ms. Sherrill told us, that when we pass strong gun control legislation, we can greatly reduce the number of children and adults shot.

We hear from the other side of the aisle, ``No, we don't want to do that.'' They are right: This legislation is the beginning.

This legislation is not perfect. It is a bipartisan compromise. It is not nearly what we should do. It is not nearly what the House did, but it is a beginning. It is a beginning in saving lives in this country.

Anyone who stands in its way is standing in the way of saving lives in this country. I will not allow myself or anyone I associate with to stand in the way of saving lives, many lives.

Again, I remind you, this is the only country that has it, and it is not because we have more mentally ill than other countries. It is because we do not have the gun control laws that other countries do.

Mr. Speaker, I urge everyone to vote for this bill as a good beginning, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding and for his extraordinary leadership in bringing this very important legislation to the floor. I commend the chairman, as well as Mr. Mike Thompson, the chair of our Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, and so many others who have participated in so many elements of this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the bipartisan Safer Communities Act, a strong step forward to combat America's epidemic of gun violence and to protect our precious children.

As lawmakers, we share a sacred responsibility to keep our kids safe from harm. But according to new data from the CDC, guns are the number one killer of children in America; more than car accidents or cancer. Our hearts remain shattered by the rampage at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, as they do from the massacre at Sandy Hook, and countless other communities across the Nation.

Indeed, we know these schools could have been in any one of our districts--and have been in some, those families could have been any one of our neighbors--and have been, and those children could have been our own.

All of us who have met with survivors in the wake of the tragedies have heard their message loud and clear. We must do something.

Today, in their honor, we heed their powerful cry, sending a major gun violence prevention legislation to President Biden's desk for signature. We send it to the President for his signature, with gratitude for his leadership on this important issue. He was the author of the Brady Law in 1994 and has been a champion ever since.

This legislation, the bipartisan Safer Communities Act, includes several strong steps to save lives not only from horrific mass shootings, but also from the daily massacre of gun crime, suicide, and tragic accidents.

Included in this package are two major provisions which we have championed here in the House:

First, this bill includes significant investments to help States establish Extreme Risk Protection Order Laws, otherwise known as red flag laws.

Thanks to the leadership of Representative Lucy McBath, who has been our inspirational leader on this subject in our caucus and this Congress, and Salud Carbajal, these provisions will keep deadly weapons away from those who pose a threat to themselves and to others.

Secondly, this bill takes strong action to combat straw purchases, a cause Congresswoman Robin Kelly spearheaded in our Chamber. Although we hear about the notorious mass murders every day on our streets and in our country, murders take place. Doing so will make it illegal to buy guns on behalf of those who cannot legally purchase.

If I can pass the test, I buy the gun. And then I sell it to you because you can't pass the test.

Straw purchase. Very dangerous. This bill addresses that. That is a giant step.

This package also includes additional initiatives that will help reduce the danger of gun violence across our country. We are moving toward closing the boyfriend loophole: a victory to help protect survivors of domestic violence and to stop known abusers from acquiring a gun. This has long been a priority.

We are strengthening background checks for potential buyers under 21, which would have applied to the 18-year-old gunman at Uvalde. And we are making enormous investments in mental health programs, school safety programs, and community-based violence prevention initiatives.

I mention all these, Mr. Speaker, because, of course, I have to say that this

bill doesn't do everything we would like to do. We need to do more on background checks. There is some other language that we would like to do in terms of background checks not only on guns, but perhaps on high- capacity armament.

I say to my colleagues, as I frequently do--but it applies here now more than ever: Let us not judge this legislation for what is not in it but respect it for what it does. And what it does is save lives. And we are very, very proud of that.

Again, I thank Chairman Nadler and Gun Violence Protection Task Force chairman, Mike Thompson, for their determined leadership in bringing this legislation to the floor. This package represents the most significant action to prevent gun violence in nearly three decades and is a necessary step to honor our solemn duty as lawmakers to protect and defend the American people.

Importantly, the bipartisan Safer Communities Act has earned strong support from gun owners, gun survivors, and law enforcement alike.

Gun Owners for Responsible Ownership endorse our bill saying: ``We write today as responsible gun owners; but above all else, we are proud parents and grandparents of toddlers, students, and young teachers. We want them to be safe.''

Everytown for Gun Safety wrote that this ``commonsense legislation addresses every form of gun violence.''

And the Fraternal Order of Police and the International Association of Chiefs of Police applauded our bipartisan agreement, calling it a giant step forward and one that will save lives. I repeat: A giant step forward and one that will save lives. The statements are from the Fraternal Order of Police and the International Association of Chiefs of Police.

Indeed, keeping our children safe is a unifying issue for our country, and it must be a unifying issue in this Congress.

Yesterday, our Nation watched in horror as a radical partisan supermajority of the Supreme Court ruled to flood America's streets with even more deadly weapons.

It is unconscionable that as America reaches a fever pitch of gun violence, the Court has chosen to create a new right to bring guns into public spaces, while hindering the ability of States to stop the bloodshed. In doing so, the GOP supermajority, Trump-McConnell Court, is implicitly endorsing the tragedy of mass shootings and daily gun deaths plaguing our Nation.

Mr. Speaker, with this bipartisan package, we take the first steps to fight back on behalf of the American people who desperately want new measures to keep communities safe in the high numbers in the polling.

Our Democratic House majority has again and again passed landmark legislation that would combat the scourge of gun violence, and we will never give up in our fight to save lives

Mr. Speaker, our fight to prevent gun violence is of, by, and for the children.

Of the children, because they are suffering. It is heartbreaking that in America more children die from guns than any other cause.

By the children, because they are leading. We see the children marching in the streets, testifying before Congress, demanding action.

And always for the children, building a future where every child can reach his or her fulfillment, free from the fear of gun violence.

To the Members who lack the courage to join in this work--to those who lack the courage to join in this work--I say your political survival is insignificant compared to the survival of our children. Today, we will prevail for the children.

Mr. Speaker, I urge a strong bipartisan ``aye'' vote for this lifesaving legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, let me first say, God bless the United States Supreme Court. And God bless President Trump for the people he selected for our highest court. Today's decision is a win for the Constitution and a win for the sanctity of human life. June 24, 2022, a date that will be remembered as a win for the sacredness of human life.

Now this bill. Mr. Speaker, the rights spelled out in the First Amendment and protected by the Second Amendment are why the United States is different than every other country. It is why we are special. It is why we are the greatest Nation in history.

For 18 months, the Democrats have attacked our First Amendment liberties. Today, they are coming after our Second Amendment liberties. And who knows what it will be tomorrow. I can only imagine.

My guess is, in light of the decision yesterday from Justice Thomas, the decision today from the Court, my guess is they are going to look to pack the Court. The Democrat chair of the Committee on the Judiciary has already introduced legislation to pack the Court.

It might be amnesty for the 2 million illegal immigrants who have come into our country in the Biden administration. They told us they want to end the electoral college and the filibuster--and who knows what it will be tomorrow. But today, they are coming after law-abiding American citizens' Second Amendment liberties.

Understand what this legislation does. This legislation tells States: Someone who doesn't like you can report you to law enforcement or to a judge. There will be a hearing, a hearing where you can't be at, your lawyer can't be at, you can't confront your accuser. You didn't commit any crime, but they can take your property. They can take your guns. They can take away your Second Amendment rights. And then you have to petition to have a subsequent hearing where you get them back. That is what this legislation does.

And understand this, and this is so important. This is not being done in a vacuum. Understand what we have seen from the left and how they have weaponized a government against their political enemies.

Mr. Speaker, 12 years ago, it was the IRS targeting conservatives.

Mr. Speaker, 6 years ago, it was the FBI spying on President Trump's campaign.

More recently, it was the Department of Justice using counterterrorism measures against moms and dads.

Just a few weeks ago, the Department of Homeland Security set up the Disinformation Governance Board; going to chill everyone's speech. Today, they are coming after your Second Amendment liberties.

Here is the good news: Yesterday, the Supreme Court got it right. They got it right when it came to the Second Amendment. We should celebrate that. I hope that this bill doesn't pass. It seems like it is going to, but I hope it doesn't.

Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``no'' vote, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I will tell you what saves lives. The decision we got from the Supreme Court today saves lives. This bill takes rights away from law-abiding citizens, their Second Amendment liberties. That is the key distinction.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to my friend, the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Johnson).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Biggs).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. McClintock).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Roy).

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Fitzgerald).

We sure aren't the same, Mr. Speaker. We actually think you should protect the sanctity of human life, and we so appreciate the decision from the Court today. We don't think you should take away rights from law-abiding American citizens.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Tiffany).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Buck).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Green).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Cline).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Clyde).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Bishop), my friend.

Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentleman.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Rodney Davis).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to my friend, the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Perry).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Massie), the co-chair of the Second Amendment Caucus.

Mr. Speaker, experience has taught me when you have to say a bill is constitutional, it is probably not. When you have to say a bill adheres to due process, it probably doesn't. And this bill certainly doesn't.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, again, I urge a ``no'' vote on this legislation.

Proponents say that this bill doesn't violate due process. Nothing could be further from the truth.

You haven't been charged with a crime, but there is a hearing, a hearing that you are not allowed to be at. You can't be present at a hearing where you don't have a lawyer and a hearing where a judge can take your property.

Again, just to underscore this, you haven't been charged with a crime, but there is a hearing where your property and your rights are at stake.

You are not allowed to be there; your lawyer is not allowed to be there; and you can't confront your accuser. But they can take your gun; they can take your property; and they can take your Second Amendment liberty.

Here is the scariest part of all: As my friend from Kentucky just pointed out, the Democrats say this is just the first step, that this doesn't go far enough. Holy cow. So that kind of proceeding doesn't go far enough when it comes to your Second Amendment liberties?

One of the key things that separates this great Nation from all other countries is how we have due process in our justice system. This bill takes it away. No other way to put it.

You can say all day long that it doesn't violate due process, but as I said just a few minutes ago, every time I hear that, experience has taught me that it most certainly does. When you have to say it, it probably does. In this case, it is certainly violating due process. There are other problems, but for that reason alone, we should vote ``no.''

Again, the scariest thing of all is that they are saying: ``Oh, this is just the first step. This doesn't go far enough.'' Imagine where they want to take us.

Their beef is with the Second Amendment. They want it to go away. Don't let it happen. I urge a ``no'' vote.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.