Gabby giffords was shot. Where a young woman was shot and died. It is not okay. The time for turning a blind eye is over mr. Udall madam president. The presiding officer the senator from new mexico. Mr. Udall madam president , i believe were not in a quorum call. Is that correct . The presiding officer that is correct. Mr. Udall thank you. Thank you for the recognition, madam president. Last month on august 22, an 86yearold grandmother born and raised in my hometown of santa fe, new mexico, was gunned down while she was shopping at walmart in el paso by a white supremacist with an ak47 style assault weapon. The gunman said, and this is his quote, he wanted to shoot as many mexicans as possible, end quote. The shooter told police he had purchased 1,000 rounds of ammunition. Less than 24 hours later it took the shooter in dayton, ohio, only 32 seconds to kill 10 people and wound 27 others with his 223caliber high capacity rifle with 100 round drum magazines. Had the Dayton Police not responded immediately the numbers of dead and injured in the crowded dayton downtown area could have been exponentially higher. On august 31 in odessa, texas, a shooter killed 7 and injured 25, including a 17monthold girl who was shot in the face. The shooter had failed a background check in 2014 because a court had found he was mentally unfit to own a gun. He purchased his ar15 style weapon in a private gun sale, not subject to a background check. Assault rifles often paired with highcapacity magazines were used to slaughter innocents at sandy hook, las vegas, aurora aurora, older, san bernardino, the Sutherland Springs church and the tree of life synagogue in pittsburgh. According to the gun violence archive, there have been 10,552 gunrelated deaths this year. That includes 2,681 children and teens and Mass Shootings number 300. Thats more than one mass shooting every day of this year. Madam president , the American People support commonsense gun safety legislation in overwhelming numbers e. Recent polls confirm that 90 or more registered voters support background checks for all gun sales 90 , think of that. The American People support a ban on highcapacity magazines. They support a ban on assault weapons. They support keeping guns out of the hands of dangerous individuals. People all across the country are worried about their communities, their schools, their churches, their children. Theyre worried they will be caught in the next mass shooting, that their community will be the next el paso, the next sandy hook or the next aztec. When i was in school, we had safety drills in the event of a Nuclear Strike from the soviet union. Children now have safety drills in the event of a shooter from within our own communities. Madam president , the American People are demanding Congress Take action on this national crisis. After el paso and dayton, many of us implored leader mcconnell to call us back into session to vote on the Gun Safety Bills sitting on his desk gathering dust. Leader mcconnell says he will only bring bills before the senate that the president will sign. Madam president , we are the legislative body. We are sent here by our constituents to pass laws, to do their will, to protect their welfare. We do not depend on the president to pass gun safety legislation. We do not have to wait for him while the n. R. A. Lobbyists try to wear him down. He can take his queues cues from us for a change. We are not his lap dogs. Protecting our communities, schools, and churches cannot wait, cannot be relegated to the leaders legislative graveyard. Too many lives have been lost. Too many lives will be lost if we dont act. The fact is too Many Republican elected officials are beholden to the scandalridden National Rifle association. The n. R. A. No longer even represents gun owners. It represents the gun industry. And now we know it also represents Dark Campaign spending and internal corruption. Theres no mystery why the republicans refused to take up gun safety legislation that americans overwhelmingly support. The n. R. A. Has poured millions into Campaign Coffers and they use that money to intimidate members of congress in opposing bills with 90 support nationally. This is yet one more example why we need to overturn Citizens United and enact comprehensive Campaign Finance reform. Our Democratic Institutions are not representing the people. We need to pass the bills on leader mcconnells desk, but we should not stop there. We also must halt the rise of White Nationalism and White Supremacy in our country. Hateful views have fueled too many of these tragedies. The Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in charleston, south carolina. The tree of life synagogue, el paso. The el paso shooters fear of, quote, the hispanic invasion of texas, end quote. Too closely echoes the president s repeated warnings of an invasion at our southern border. The shooters antiimmigrant creed rings of the president s attacks on immigrants as criminals and rapists that need to be kept out of our country by a border wall. Las cruces, new mexico is 45 minutes from el paso. El paso is like a sibling to us. New mexico, like el paso, takes great pride in our diversity. Our diversity does not divide us. It defines us. It unifies us. The president s antiimmigrant nativist rhetoric is not only deeply offensive to new mexicans, it also fuels the worst elements of our society, elements that now have ready access to militarystyle weapons. The f. B. I. Director recently reported to congress that the bureau had arrested almost as many domestic terrorists as Foreign Terrorists this year. He said most of the racially motivated domestic terrorism cases were likely connected to White Supremacy. It is up to this body to stand up to the president s antiimmigrant and racist rhetoric and unequivocally affirm this nations values, values of equality, of tolerance, and inclusiveness. And, madam president , its up to this body to stand up to the n. R. A. And stand with the American People. Madam president , i mr. Bennet madam president , id ask the quorum call be vitiated. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Bennet thank you, m