protocols they might have with law enforcement to keep your children safe. so you can talk intelligently and in an informed way about the steps that have been taken to keep them safe. so, i think it's important -- >> we're going to leave this recorded program and take you live to capitol hill for a congressional hearing on gun violence. an 11-year-old survivor of the uvalde, texas school shooting will testify, along with the parents of other shooting victims. live coverage from the house oversight committee on c-span 3, you can also watch our free video app, c-span now. >> unless your pool, you need to leave the room. unless your designated pool, you need to leave the room, thank you. [inaudible] >> welcome everybody, to today's hybrid hearing. pursuing to house rules, some members will appear in person and others will appear remotely via zoom. her members appearing remotely, i know you are all familiar with zoom by now but let me remind you. , first of the house rules require that we see you. so, please have your cameras turned on at all times. second, members appeared remotely who are not recognize should remain muted to minimize background noise. third, i will recognize members verbally but members retain the right to seek recognition, forcibly, in regular order. lastly, if you want to be recognized outside of regular order you may identify that in several ways. you may use the chat function to send a request, you may send an email to the majority staff or you may unmute your mic to seek recognition. we will begin the hearing in just a moment, when they tell us we are ready to begin the live stream. the committee will come to order. without, objection the chair is authorized to declare a recess of the committee at anytime. i now recognize myself for an opening statement. today, we will examine the destruction and heartbreak that gun violence is causing across our country. i want to express my deep gratitude to each of our witnesses for being here today. i am particularly grateful to our witnesses who will be discussing the loss of their loved ones and their personal experiences from recent mass shootings in uvalde, texas and buffalo, new york. despite their pain, these witnesses express their strong desire to share their stories with this committee and the public. i know that i speak for every member of this committee when i say that we are inspired by your bravery. for a parent, there is no greater pain than the loss of a child. but across the country, since this gun violence is claiming the lives of our children and loved ones in places where they should be safe, our schools, our supermarkets, even our churches and our synagogues. gun violence is the leading cause of death for children in our country. as a society, we are failing our children and we are failing each other. this out of control gun violence is a uniquely american tragedy. as you can see in this chart, in 2019, the united states suffered 17 times more gun deaths than the next highest g7 country. we stand alone in mass shootings. other countries path sensible gun safety laws and protect their children. and no other country comes close to that number of school shootings we have. between 2009 and 2018, the u.s. had 288, 288, school shootings. all other g7 countries combined had just five. some of my colleagues across the aisle have blamed the violence on mental illness. they have blamed violent video games. they have blamed family values. they have even blamed opened doors. they have blamed everything but guns. but we know the united states does not have a monopoly on mental illness, video games or any other excuse. what america does have is widespread access to guns. that includes assault weapons, which were designed to kill as many enemy soldiers on the battlefield as possible as quickly as possible. yet, in many states, these weapons of war can be purchased by an 18 year old just by walking into a store. assault weapons were used in the recent massacres in buffalo, texas and tulsa. just as they were in parkland, newtown, san bernardino, orlando, las vegas and so many other mass shootings. these weapons have no place in our communities, no civilian needs an assault rifle. and, the second amendment does not protect the right to own a weapon of war. it is time that we banned assault rifles from our streets, our communities, and from our homes. but if we are going to truly address the gun crisis we need to be honest about why our country has failed to act sooner. the truth is the gun industry is making billions of dollars selling the weapons that are killing our children. and they are fighting tooth and nail to keep doing it. that is why i have launched an investigation into five leading gun manufacturers that sell assault weapons used in mass shootings. we need to know why these communities are marketing military weapons to civilians, and how much they are profiting from the death of our children. of course, mass shootings are just one part of this crisis. we cannot forget that gun violence is a steady drumbeat and so many of our towns and cities. especially in marginalized communities. black men make up more than half of all gun victims in the united states. despite making up less than 6% of the population. latinos are twice as likely to be killed by a gun, and four times as likely to be wounded by a gun as white americans. we need transparency and to how guns are reaching the hands of criminals, which is why this committee has been working to identify the gun dealers that are selling the most guns used in crimes. including across state lines. today the house is voting to pass common sense gun safety legislation, which is a crucial first step in addressing this crisis. i am particularly grateful this bill will include key provisions similar to a bipartisan bill i first introduced more than ten years ago. with a strong support of former chairman elijah cummings. my bill would make gun trafficking a federal felony and strengthen penalties for strong purchases. which will help stop the flow of guns into the hands of criminals. my goal for today's hearing is simple, i am asking every member of this committee to listen with an open heart to the brave witnesses who have come forward to tell their stories about how gun violence has impacted their lives. our witnesses today have endured pain, and loss. yet they are displaying incredible courage by coming here to ask us to do our jobs. let us hear their voices, let us honor their courage, let us find the same courage to pass common sense laws to protect our children. i now recognize the distinguished ranking member mr. -- for an opening statement. >> thank you chairwoman maloney, all of our hearts go to the victims and families of uvalde texas and buffalo, new york. to those of us who are testifying before us today, there are no words to describe the deep anguish you feel. the american people agree with you. as elected representatives in congress it is our obligation to work to ensure that these violent crimes and tragedies never happen again. americans of all backgrounds should be empowered to defend themselves against rising violence. the increased violence we have witnessed since the summer of 2020 is unacceptable. murders and aggravated assaults are all up. this is a trend we must reverse, we have recently witnessed several high-profile and senseless acts of murder and mayhem, that have impacted all americans. including, tragically, our defenseless and innocent schoolchildren. we must respond to those heinous acts and provide justice for the families. at the same time, we recognize that violence occurs in many of our communities on a daily basis, impacting americans across the united states for every background. too often tragedies are politicized for partisan gain. we have seen many seek to leverage these crimes and their victims to push for radical left-wing policies, or to address their campaigns to get elected. instead of rushing to score political points at the expense of our justice system working properly, we must learn from the senseless acts of violence and take concrete action to reduce violence in the future. we owe it to the families of the victims. they deserve justice, we owe it to the american people. we must and can prevent similar tragedies. we all want to live in a country where we can achieve our american dream without the threat of violence in our communities. we must work together to deliver sensible solutions to secure our schools, protect the most vulnerable among us, and bring to justice those responsible for these heinous crimes. our local officials cannot defund our police, and our prosecutors cannot be soft on crime. i believe that we must carefully consider the security posture of vulnerable targets sought out by evil people. we must ensure that every american has a safe environment in which to live their lives in peace. that requires thinking creatively about solutions to harden our infrastructure, in force our existing laws, and work to foster a culture that values conflict resolution and dialogue over violence. i strongly believe that there is an important place for law-abiding gun owners to serve in protecting themselves, their families, and their communities from violence. our second amendment is an important tool in securing our individual rights to self-defense. knee-jerk reactions to oppose gun control policies seek to curtail our constitutional right to bear arms are not the answer. gun ownership is on the rise in america. people want to protect themselves and their families. we should commend all law-abiding gun owners who safely use, store, and carry those firearms. not vilify them for blatantly personal purposes. we also must continue to empower our law enforcement professionals to serve and protect our communities honorably. as i said before, defund the police and soft on crime prosecution policies have been a failure across the board. efforts to divert violent criminals out of the criminal justice system have failed, leading to the victimization of the very communities those policies were promised to help. violent criminals should be in jail, not back on the streets to re-offend and terrorize. we must recommit ourselves to pursuing justice and keeping violent criminals off of our street. thank you, chairwoman maloney, i yield my time. >> the gentleman yields back, i want to clarify that i support the second amendment, i support law-abiding gun owners, i do not support lax gun laws that allow guns to get into the hands of criminals and unstable people. i now recognize the gentlelady from california for a opening statement. >> i represent a community and morning. less than one month ago in lagoon a woods, a gunman locked the doors to the geneva presbyterian church and opened fire on my communities tight wit taiwanese congregation. this was a undeniable tragedy but under different circumstances it could have been unimaginable massacre. unlike the shooters in uvalde and buffalo, the shooter in lagoon a woods did not carry an assault rifle equipped with high capacity magazines, he was armed with 9 mm handguns that forced him to reload. that difference gave a hero, dr. john chang, the chance to stop the carnage. he sacrificed his life to stop the shooter, and his bravery was remarkable. we cannot depend on a heroes bravery to save lives. law enforcement has determined that the gunman was ready to kill every person in the church. had he been armed with a military style assault rifle, he may have done so. there is no telling how many more lives would have been lost. shootings involving assault weapons are six times as deadly as shootings involving handguns. and, when assault weapons are equipped with high capacity magazines or bump stacks the death toll rises even further. california has banned these weapons for years. our laws have saved lives, including members of geneva presbyterian church. congress must follow california's lead. i yield back. >> the lady yields back, i now recognize the gentleman from louisiana, mr. higgins, for an opening statement. >> thank you, madam chair. it is a sober day in congress as we reflect upon the challenges our nation faces. in 2005, as a young cop, i was dispatched to reports of a man down in the street in a part of the city that was crime ridden and dangerous. i found a victim, a teenager. i held the mortal wound on the back of his head and whispered prayer into his ear as his life flowed from his body. he died there, in my arms, on the street. he was killed by an ax handle. i am prayerful for america, i am prayerful for healing and i am prayerful for discernment amongst this body and my colleagues. as a law enforcement officer, i know what it means to swear an oath to protect and serve my community had my nation. and the importance of brigade justice to the families who suffered the hands of evil. it is essential the fundamental freedoms of the first amendment, second amendment, fourth amendment are always protected and preserved by this body. i was sworn as a man, i swore an oath to uphold the constitution of the united states and i will never back down from defending that constitution, including the rights of law-abiding americans to keep and bear arms. madam chair, i thank you for this hearing today and i yield. >> the gentleman yields. now, we will introduce our witnesses. i would like to turn it over to the gentleman from new york, mr. higgins, to introduce our first witness without objection. mr. wagons is authorized to participate in this hearing. he represents buffalo, you are now recognized, mr. hagan's. >> thank you chair and ranking member, the honorable members of the oversight and reform committee. the greek tragic poet escalates says that we suffer our way to wisdom. he says, we suffer our way to wisdom. to live is to suffer, to endure the suffering is to give meaning to the suffering. we have a problem in this country. unless we learn from the tragic events of the last three weeks, who are we as a people? in this brave group of panelists, from two cities that were devastated by destruction beyond human comprehension, we have to find a way to deal with this. in buffalo, the shooting started at 2:30 in the afternoon and was concluded in two minutes and three seconds. one shooter grew, semi automatic weapon, 13 people shot, ten dead. one shooter. if you look for a common denominator and all of these, it is typically someone that should never have had a gun with a high capacity weapon to kill as many people as quickly as possible. zeneta everhart is here. she is a friend and a proud citizen of the city of buffalo. zenata is with us today as the mother of a buffalo mass shooting victim, zaire goodman. desire was working at the tops friendly market that was targeted by a white supremacist racist, deranged gunman. get zaire it's also a colleague in government, zeneta is the director of diversity and inclusion for my friend and colleague, new york state senator tim kennedy. zeneta story is both tragic and magic. with that, it gives me great honor to present to the committee, zeneta everhart. >> think you and after miss ever heart we will hear from dr. roy guerrero, with a pediatrician in uvalde, texas. then, we will hear from miah cerrillo who is a fourth grader at robb elementary school in texas. mia will be sharing her experience in a prerecorded video. her father, miguel, is with us in the room today and will be making brief remarks after her daughter's video. then he will excuse himself. next, we will hear from felix and kimberly rubio who are the parents of lexi rubio, who tragically lost her life in the texas shooting. i now recognize the gentleman from georgia, mr. hice, to introduce our last witness on this panel. >> thank, you madam chair. it is my honor to recognize lucretia hughes. but she is a part of my constituency, an incredibly bright light in our tent district. she has an extremely compelling story, i just wanted to publicly recognize lucretia. i wanted to thank you for being here today, i know it's hard to share the story that you have come to us with, but we are grateful that your hair. and i just, madam chair, wanted to say thank you for just these few seconds to recognize lucretia hughes and welcome her here. i yield back. >> thank you. the witnesses will be unmuted so we can swear them in. please raise your right hands. do you swear or affirm that the testimony you are about to give is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you god? let the record show that the witnesses answered in the affirmative. thank you and, without objection, your written statements will be made part of the record. with that, miss ever heart, you are now recognized for your testimony. please testify, this ever heart. >> thank you, chairwoman. zaire, my son, goodman. my son, or as i like to call him, the kid, was shot and injured by a domestic terrorist at the top's grocery store, where he was an employee in a historically black community on jefferson avenue in buffalo, new york. zaire, the kid, it's now a 21-year-old man, he has pure joy, he is everything that is good in this world. as i sit here before you today, i can hear my son telling me to stop being extra and get to the point. i was going to tell you all a bunch of fluffy, funny stories about zyaire, but i have a message. so, i'll get to the point. as director of diversity and inclusion with new york state senator tom penny's office, stories of gun violence and racism are all too familiar. but now, these stories are zaire stories. these problems literally knocked on my front door. these are issues that, as a country, we do not like to openly discuss. domestic terrorism exist in this country for three reasons. america is inherently violent, this is who we are as a nation. the very existence of this country was founded on violence, hate and racism, with the near annihilation of my native brothers and sisters. my ancestors brought to america through the slave trade where the first currency of america. let me say that again, for the people in the back. my ancestors, the first currency of america, were stripped of their heritage and culture, separated from their families, bargained for on auction blocks. sold, beaten, raped and lynched. yet, i continuously here, after every mass shooting, that this is not who we are as americans and as a nation. hear me clearly. this is exactly who we are. education, majority of what i have learned about african american history i did not learn until i went to college. and i had to choose those classes. why is that? why is african american history not a part of american history? african americans built this country from the ground up. guy ancestors blood is embedded in the soil, we have to change the curriculum in schools across the country so that we may adequately educate our children. reading about history is crucial to the future of this country. learning about other cultures, ethnicities, and religions in school should not be something that is up for debate. we cannot continue to whitewash education, creating generations of children to believe that one race of people are better than the other. our differences should make us curious, not angry. at the end of the day i bleed, you bleed, we are all human. that awful day that will now be a part of the history books, hopefully. let us not forget to add what we teach our children. guns, the 18 year old terrorist who stormed into my community armed with an ar-15, killing ten people and injuring three others received a shotgun from his parents for his 16th birthday. for my son's 15th birthday i bought him a video game, sent headphones, a pizza, and the cake. we are not the same. how and why? and what in the world is wrong with this country? children should not be armed with weapons. parents who provide their children with guns should be held accountable. lawmakers who continuously allow these mass shootings to continue by not passing stricter gun law should be voted out. to the lawmakers who feel that we do not need stricter gun laws, let me paint a picture for you. my son, zaire has a hole in the right side of his neck, two on his back, and another on his left leg. caused by an exploding bullet from an ar-15. as i clean his wounds i cannot feel pieces of that bullet in his back, shrapnel will be left inside of his body for the rest of his life. now, i want you to picture that exact scenario for one of your children. this should not be your story or mine. as an elected official it is your duty to draft legislation that protects zaire and all of the children and citizens in this country. common sense gun laws are not about your personal feelings or beliefs, you are elected because you have been chosen and are trusted to protect us. but let me say to you here today, i do not feel protected. no citizen needs an air 15, these weapons are designed to do the least harm in the least amount of time. on saturday may 14th it took a domestic terrorist just two minutes to shoot and kill ten people and injured three others. if, after hearing from me and the other people testifying here today, does not move you to act on gun laws i invite you to my home to help me clean zaire swoons so you may see up close the damage that has been done to my son and my community. to the family of ruth with field, -- marcus morrison, and robert a jury, i promise that their deaths will not be in vain. zaire and i promised to use their voice to lift their names and they will carry their spirit with us as we embark on this journey to create change. i know that their collective souls washed out for zaire that day and i am eternally grateful to them for that. to the east side of buffalo, i love you, i am speaking directly to my people, to my hood, from bailey to kensington to fill more to jefferson and every street in between, just like the potholes that we want filled in. yes, i keep it real. together we will continue to fill the streets with love, no matter what people say about the east side of buffalo we will not be broken. i was born there and race there, i raised my son, there i still live there, and i do the majority of my professional work on the east side of buffalo. i vowed to you today that everywhere i go i will make sure the people here the real stories of our people. for too long our community has been neglected and starved of the resources we greatly need. i promise i will not stop pushing for more resources until we funnel them to the east side of buffalo. each and every person that lives within that community's family. not a perfect community, but i know that we have love. to the greater buffalo area, to everyone from around the country and the world who have reached out and loved us. on behalf of zaire his father, damien, my mother, my father, my sisters, and my brother, and myself we thank you. well thank you for all of your thoughts and your prayers. thank you for all of the love and support you have shown us during these difficult time. but, i also say to you today with a heart full, from the outpouring of love that you also freely gave us. your thoughts and prayers are not enough. we need you to stand with us in the days, weeks, months, and years to come and be ready to go to work and help us to create the change that this country so desperately needs. i will end with a quote. from charles bloom in his book the devil we know. wray says we have come to understand is a fiction, but racism as we have come to live it is a fact. the point here is not to impose a new racial hierarchy, but to remove an existing one. after centuries of waiting for white majorities to overturn white supremacy, it is, to me, that has fallen to black people to do it themselves. i stand at the ready. zaire, this is for you, kid, happy birthday. >> thank you. doctor guerrero, you are now recognized for your testimony. >> thank you chairwoman. my name is dr. roy guerrero, i'm a board certified pediatrician and president of the evolving memorial hospital. there is a massacre at robb elementary school i was called here today as a witness. i showed up because i am a doctor. because how many years ago i swore an oath, an oath to do no harm. after witnessing firsthand the carnage in my hometown of uvalde, to stay silent would have betrayed that oath and action it's harm. passivity is harm. delay is harm. here i am. not to plead, not to beg or convince you of anything. but to do my job and hope that by doing so it inspires in the hours of this hill to do their's. i have lived in uvalde my whole life. i attended robb elementary school myself as a kid. as is often the case with us grown-ups we remember a lot of the good and not much of the bad. i do not recall homework or detention, i remember how much i loved going to school. would a joyful time it was, back then people would run between classrooms with ease to visit our friends. i remember the way the cafeteria smelled lunchtime like a hamburger thursdays. it was right around lunchtime on a tuesday that a gunman entered the school without restriction a nine teen students and mask were massacred. change the way families will remember the way we remember that school forever. i don't remember they smell the cafeteria or the laughter in the hallways, it will remembering the screams and bloodshed, panic and chaos, police shouting, parents whaling. i will never forget when i saw that they. for me that they started with any typical tuesday and our pediatric clinic. mom calling for coughs, sports injuries, right before the summer rush. school was out in two days and summer camps would guarantee some grazes and ankle sprains. injuries that could be patched up and fix with a mickey mouse sticker as a reward. then, at 12:30 business as usual stopped and with it my heart. a colleague from a san antonio trauma center texted me and said why are pediatric surgeons and intercity all adjust on call for a mass shooting in uvalde? i raced to the hospital to find parents outside yelling children's names in desperation. and sobbing as they begged for any news related to their child. those mothers cries i will never get to my head, as i entered the er the first casualty i came across was miah cerrillo, she was sitting in the hallway with her face still, still in shock but her whole body shaking from the adrenaline coursing through it. the white lilo & stitch shirt that she wore was covered in blood and her shoulder was bleeding from the shrapnel injury. sweet miah i have known my whole life. as a baby she survived liver surgeries against all odds and once again she is here is a survivor, inspiring us with her story today and her bravery. when i saw miah sitting there i remembered sitting her parents outside, so after seeing the parents outside i raced outside to let her see that she was alive. i was not ready for the next question. her eight-year-old sister was also at the school time in the shooting. i had heard from some of the nurses that there were two dead children that had moved to the surgical area of the hospital. as i made my way there i pray that i would not find her. i did not find her. what i did find was something no prayer whatever relieve. two children whose bodies had been pulverized by bullets fired at them decapitated. whose children flesh had been ripped apart, but the only clued their identities was the blood spatter still clinging to them. clean for life and finding them. i can only hope these two bodies were a tragic exception to the survivors but as i waited there with my fellow doctors, nurses, first responders, and hospital staff for other casualties we hope to say they never arrived. all that remained was the bodies of 17 more children and two teachers who cared for them. who dedicated their careers to nurturing and respecting the awesome potential in every single one, just as we doctors do. i will tell you why i became a pediatrician. i know that children were the best patients, they accept a situation as it explained them. you did not have to coax them into changing their lifestyles in order to get better or plead them to modify their behavior as you do with adults. no matter how hard you try to help an adult their path to healing is always determined by how willing they are to take action. adults are stubborn, they are resistant to change even with the change will make things better for ourselves. but, especially when we think we are immune to the fallout. why else would there have been such little progress made in congress to stop gun violence? children all over the country today are dead because walls and policy allowed people to buy weapons before they are old enough to buy a pack of beer. they are dead because restrictions have been allowed to lapse, they are dead because there are no rules about where guns are kept, no one is paying attention to who is buying them. the thing i cannot figure out is whether or politicians are failing us out of stubbornness, passivity, or both. i said before that as grown-ups we have a habit of remembering the good and forgivingly bad. never more so than when it comes to our guns. once the blood is rinsed away from the bodies of our loved ones and scrubbed off of the floors of the schools, supermarkets, and churches. the carnage that we have seen is erased from our collective conscience and we return to nostalgia. to the rose tinted view of our second amendment as a perfect instrument of american life, no matter how many lives are lost. i chose to be a pediatrician, i chose to take care of children, keeping them safe from preventable diseases i can do. keeping them safe from bacteria and brittle bones i can do. but making sure our children are safe from guns, that is the job of our politicians and leaders. in this case you are the doctors and our country is a patient. we are lying on the operating table, riddled with bullets like the children of robb elementary and so many other schools. we are bleeding out and you are not there. my oath as a doctor means i signed up to save lives. i do my job, and i guess it turns out that i am here to plead. to beg, to please, please do yours! >> thank you. we will now play the video from miah. >> my name is miah cerrillo, and i went to robb elementary. we were just watching a movie. and then she heard something and went to lock the door. he was in the hallway and then he came in and attacked. and then she went to the back of the room and she told us to go hide. and then we went to go hide behind my teachers desk and behind the backpacks and then he shot the little window. and then he went to the other classroom, and there was a door between our classrooms and he went through there and shot my teacher and killed my teacher. and he shot her in the head. and then he shot some of my classmates, and the white board. when i went to the backpacks he shot my friend that was next to me. i thought he was gonna come back into the room, so i grabbed the blood and i put it all over me. >> why did you do that? when you put the ball on yourself? >> to stay quiet, and then i got my teachers phone and called 9-1-1. >> what did you tell 9-1-1? >> i told her that we needed help, and to say the police. we need them in our classroom. >> if there was something that you want, want people to know about that day and about you. things that you want different, what would it be? do you feel safe at school? why not? >> because i do not want to happen again. >> do you think it's going to happen again? >> mr. cerrillo you are now recognized. >> hello, i came here today because i could've lost my little girl. she is not the same girl that i used to play with and run with. she was daddy's little girl. i have five kids and choose the middle child. i do not know what to do because i think i would have lost my baby girl. my baby girl is the world because not only once but twice she came back to us. she is a reboot not only for me but her siblings on her mother. i thank you all for let me be here and speak out but i wish something would change. not only for our kids but every single kid in the world that goes to school and is not safe anymore. something needs to really change. thank you. >> thank you for your testimony, i understand you are now leaving. we thank you for sharing your story. thank you, mr. and mrs. rubio you are now test recognized for your testimony. >> i am kimberly rubio, this is felix rubio, we are the parents of lexi rubio and five other children who all attended you've all the public schools are in the 2021 2020 you school year. calista completed a school this year. isaiah attends uvalde high school, david who goes to the union high, and our two youngest children who went to robb elementary. on the morning of may 24th 2022 i dropped lexi and julian off at a little after 7 am. my husband and i returned to the campus at 8 am for the awards ceremony and again at 10:30 am for lexi's awards ceremony. she received the good citizen award and was also recognized for receiving always. at the conclusion of the ceremony which it photos with her before asking her to pose for a picture with her teacher. that photo, her last photo ever was taken at 10:54 am. it was to celebrate, we promised to get her ice cream told her we loved her and we would pick her up every school. we can still see her walking towards the exit does. in the real that keeps scrolling classmate memories she turns her head and smiles back at us to acknowledge my promise and then we left. i left my daughter at that school decision will haunt me for the rest of my life. afterward feel it struck me off at my office. and returned home because it was a rare day off for him between normal shifts and security gigs he takes to help make ends meet. i got situated at my desk and began writing about a new business in town when the news office started hearing commotion on the police scatter. a shooting on diaz street near robb elementary. it was not long before we received word from my sons teacher that they were a safe, secured classroom. once evacuated from campus the children were reunited with parents and guardians in the civic center. my dad picked up julian from the civic center and took him to my grandmother's house. one of our kids was safe. we focused on finding lexi. bus after bus arrived but she was not on board. we heard there were children at the local hospital and we drove around to provide her description. she was not there. my dad drove an hour and a half to san antonio to check with the university hospital. at this point some part of me most real issue is gone, in the midst of chaos had the urge to remove to robb elementary. at this point we did not have a car and traffic was everywhere. iran barefoot in my flimsy sandals and hat. i ran a mile to the school with my husband. we sat outside for a while before it became clear we would not receive an answer from what enforcement on the scene. a san antonio firefighter eventually gave us a ride back to the city center, where the district was asking all families who had not been reunited with their children to gather. soon after we receive the news that our daughter was in the 19 students and two teachers who died as a result of gun violence. we do not want you to think of lexi as just a number. she was intelligent, compassionate, athletic. she was quiet, shy of what she had a point to make. when she knew she was right, she so often was, she stood her ground. she was firm, direct, voice unwavering. today we stand for lexi and has her voice we demand action. we seek a ban on assault rifles and high capacity magazines. we understand that for some reason, to some people, to people with money, to people who fund political campaigns that guns are more important that children. at this moment we ask for progress. we seek to raise the age to purchase these weapons from 18 to 21 years of age. we seek red flag laws, stronger background checks. we also want to repeal gun manufacturers liability. you have all seen glimpses of who lexi was. i also want to tell you a little bit about who she would have been. i've given the opportunity she would have made a positive change in this world. she wanted to attend saint mary's university in san antonio, texas, on a softball scholarship. she wanted to major in mass and go on to attend law school. that opportunity was taken from her. she was taken from us. i am a reporter, a student, a mom, a runner. i have read to my children since they were in the womb. my husband is a law enforcement officer. an iraq war veteran, he loves fishing and our babies. somewhere out there there is a mom listening to our testimony thinking i cannot even imagine their pain. not knowing that our reality will one day be hers, unless we act now. thank you for your time. >> thank you for your testimony. miss hughes, you are now recognized for your testimony. >> honorable chairwoman maloney, ranking member comer, distinguished members of the committee. thank you for allowing me to be here today to address the violence in our country. my name is lucretia hughes. i have four children and nine grandchildren. on the night of april the 2nd 2016 my family got a phone call that would change our lives forever. my ex-husband answered the phone and let out a blood curdling scream, a stream of pain from the depths of his soul. he screamed, he cried, he is gone! he is gone! our 19 year old son, emmanuel, went to a party early that night. after we got a call we were frantic, we called his phone, no one answered, we even called the police, i went to facebook and i had to ask is my sunday? i found out that he was shot point blank in the head and killed while playing dominoes. no one spoke up for weeks and the killer was on the run. no one was going to snitch. but that is the street life. words cannot describe how hard it is to bury a child. i ache for anyone and all who have done the same. my son and his death was the result of a criminal with an evil heart and a justice system failing to hold him accountable for the laws he had already broken. you see? a convicted felon that killed my son with an illegally obtained gone. our gun control lobbyists and politicians claimed that their policies will save lives and reduce violence. those policies did not save my son. they laws being discussed or already implemented. in cities across this country we have decades of evidence proving they do not work. st. louis, new york, chicago, washington, atlanta. our gun control you tobias and they are plagued by the most violence. ten more lance, 20 more laws, 1000 more will not make what has already illegal more wrong or stop criminals from committing these crimes. you all are delusional if you think it is going to keep a safe. i am a walking testimony of how the criminal justice system and the gun control laws, which are steeped in racism, by the way, have failed the black community. by the age of 25 i had already gone to 18 young black men's funerals. at the age of 25. i have one black man in jail, one black man in the grave, and my young grandson is going to be raised without a father. and it is a curse on the black community and everyone else's. something has to change. . thoughts and prayers and calls for more gun control is not enough. how about protecting myself from evil. you do not think i am capable and trustworthy to handle a firearm? you do not think that the second amendment does not apply to people who look like you? and you, who would call for more gun controls are the same ones that are calling to defund the police. who is supposed to protect us? we must prepare to be our own first responders. to protect ourselves and our loved ones. i am a legal law abiding citizen, i do not need the government to save me. i teach people how to use a firearm, i empower others to look at me and understand the second amendment is their right. i am a proud member of the d.c. project, women for gun rights. we believe that education is the key to safety. not in affective legislation. way support meaningful solutions that will actually save lives. we support the safe student act, hr 70 4:15. which would immediately make schools safer. in hindsight on parkland, we saw failure of the government at every level failing the students. students saw something and they said something, the school did not act. police were called to his residence over 30 times and they did not act. and finally the police did not go into their school that fateful day and failed to protect those kids. we need to secure our schools and we need to secure this building. what is the difference? we call on congress to ban gun free zones. fund nonpartisan firearm education programs like kids safe foundation and non governmental mental health organizations like hold my guns. in closing, i claim that nothing in these bills do anything to make us safer, or address the mental health crisis in this country. despite living with the heartache of losing my son on a daily basis, i believe is our god given right to defend ourselves from any acts of violence. making it more difficult or even more expensive for me and people who look like me, and other law-abiding citizens will not make it more safe. it will embolden the criminals. gun owners are not the enemies in these gun control policies are not the solution. thank you, thank you. >> thank you, thank you all for your powerful and meaningful and gut wrenching testimony. we will now pause, you are excused, and we will pause while we see the next piano for their testimony. >> the meeting will resume. we are now ready for our second panel, and i'd like to introduce our witnesses. the first witness is the honorable eric adams, who is the mayor of the city of new york. then, we will hear from gregg jackson, who is the executive director of the community justice action fund. next, we will hear from becky pringle, who is the president of the national education association. next, we will hear from joseph gramaglia, who is the police commissioner of buffalo, new york. then, we will hear from nick suplina, was the senior vice president for law and policy at every town for gun safety. finally, we'll hear from amy swearer, who is the legal fellow at the edwin meese center for legal and judicial studies and the heritage foundation. but witnesses will be unmuted so that we may swear them in. please raise your right hands. do you swear to affirm that the testimony you are about to give is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you god? let the record show that the witnesses answered in the affirmative. thank you, without objection, your written statements will be made part of the record. with that, mayor adams, you are now recognized your testimony. thank you for coming. turn on your mic. >> thank you, thank you very much. again, i want to thank you, madam chairwoman maloney for the invitation to testify today. i also want to thank all the members of the house committee on oversight and reform. members from the new york city congressional delegation and everyone who has testified today, especially those who have so bravely shared their stories of losing loved ones to gun violence. i was particularly touched by hearing the husband and wife that lost their baby girl, as a father with one son. it was extremely impactful to all of us. i'm eric adams, i'm honored to appear before you today as the 110th mayor of the great city of new york, to discuss the ways we can protect public safety and prevent gun violence. ladies and gentlemen, it is high noon in america. time for every one of us to decide where we stand on the issue of gun violence. time to decide if it's more important to protect the profits of gun manufacturers or the lives of our children. time to decide if we are going to be a nation of laws or confederation of chaos. and we must do it now. it is high noon in america, our country, the country i love, the clock is ticking every day, every minute, towards another hour of death. i'm here today to ask every one of you and everyone in this congress to stand with all of us to end gun violence and protect the lives of americans. we are facing a crisis that is killing more americans than war. the crisis that is now that number one cause of death for our young people. a crisis that is flooding our cities with the illegal guns faster than we can take them off the street. new york city police department has taken over 3000 illegal guns off our streets this year alone. but the guns just keep coming. this is a crisis that transcends party lines and affects both rural and urban communities. i know this firsthand, as a co-chair of every towns nonpartisan coalition on mayors against illegal guns. no matter what our party affiliations, we are united in our mission to stop crime, save lives and bring an end to gun violence. because this isn't about blue versus red, this is about right versus wrong. whether it is on the street, wearing a badge or in these chambers taking a vote, we must stand for what is right. first, we need congress to take the handcuffs off the bureau of alcohol, tobacco, firearms and explosives, known as atf. and let them do their jobs. that means confirming president biden's nominee as soon as possible. we must work together to dam all the rivers that lead to the sea of violence. common sense gun reform must become the law of the land. i'm pleased that today the house will vote on hr 70 9:10, the protecting our kids act. and i urge swift passage of the gun violence prevention package for consideration in the senate. i also urge the senate to pass hr eight, the bipartisan background checks act of 2021. and hr 14 46, the enhanced background checks act of 2021. these are bipartisan gun safety bills that would make our cities and our people safer. i stand with president joe biden in calling on congress right now to regulate or ban assault weapons in this country. even if we only raise the age requirement to buy one of these weapons, lives will be saved. we need congress to direct federal aid to localities and states that support not just law enforcement and violence prevention, but also access to high quality health care, childcare, education and housing. we must build a society for our youth on the path to fulfillment, not a road to ruin. as mayor, my greatest responsibility is protecting the lives and the safety of the people of new york city. this is my calling, my duty and my life's work. i did it as a police officer in a uniform, wearing a badge. and i do it now, as elected leader of our largest american city. but i need your help to further protect our people and to save lives, the time to act is now. it is hard newman in america. >> thank you. mr. jackson, you are now recognized for your testimony. mr. jackson? >> thank you, chairwoman maloney, ranking member comer and the rest of the committee for inviting me on this really important topic. i name is greg jackson, and the executive director for the community justice action fund. the only national gun violence advocacy organization led by a survivor of color. but i'm not here by choice, i'm here by circumstance. in 2013, just miles from this chamber, i was shot as an innocent bystander while i was simply walking home. when i arrived at the hospital, i wasn't welcomed with nurses and surgeons. no, i was met with investigators. they questioned me as a suspect first and a patient second. i spent 21 days in the hospital, six months learning how to walk again. but what was most terrifying and tragic was that, when i turned on the tv, i was watching members of congress have the same debates that we're having right now. that was nine years ago. every year, over 110,000 people are shot or killed by gun violence. so that means nearly 1 million lives have been directly devastated since i laid in that hospital, looked up in a television and watch the members of this chamber debate this top. most of the stories of those who have been impacted by gun violence like mine will never make the headlines. just two miles from here macaya wilson was shot, ten years old while going to get ice cream. quran brown, one of my mentees who hosted his own stop the violence event in those neighborhood was shot down that same summer and killed in front of a mcdonald's. and pamela thomas, here in d.c., who is so afraid of gun violence in her community that she wrote her own eulogy, just to be shot by a stray bullet in front of her son. these statistics are not statistics their stories of real people, real people who are dying in our streets every single day. every day 110 americans are killed with guns and 200 are shot and wounded. we have talked a lot about this being the number one cause of death for all youth. surpassing car accidents, drug overdoses, and covid-19. amid this pandemic we have also seen a 35% increase in homicides. this still remains the number one cause of death for black men, the number two cause of death for latino men, and the number two cause of death for black women. we are here because we cannot and must not hide from the harsh truth. gun violence is destroying communities around the country and every day families experience firsthand the devastation gunfire brings. to eliminate gun violence we must swiftly recognize that this is a public health crisis that deserves a public health response. at community justice we address gun violence by focusing on those who have been most impacted by the crisis. we urge congress to invest in community based solutions that we know can address those public health risk factors. that can reduce the risk factors of those impacted by gun violence, but also address the root causes. we also strongly urge that any supply side approach not only focus on the shooter, but on the supplier and the source of firearms that are flooding into our communities. and moments of crisis congress has proven to be as resilient as the american people to take action. when coronavirus struck our country congress authorized bipartisan legislation to provide resources and legislation to save lives. when ukraine was in crisis congress sprang into action, and mobilized bipartisan authorization to authorize immediate aid, economic investment, mental health resources, and other services to support those communities. but i am here to say we are in crisis in america today. each time we did the hard thing because it was the right thing to do, this crisis is no different. this crisis has now taken away grandparents, in buffalo, elementary kids in uvalde, fathers in chicago, mothers in atlanta, nephews in chicago. even pastors in charleston. we are here, still asking for action. there are three direct things that we know can be done. first we must acknowledge this as a public health crisis. we craft policies to combat it as such. second we must advance common slants legislation but not only addresses the hardware but promotes community based solutions to end gun violence. such as they break the cycle of violence act. and lastly, i urge you create a select committee on the gun violence crisis to investigate the health impacts of gun violence and it's disproportionate impact on black and brown communities across the country. now is the time to take action before another person loses their life. before another child opens his last textbook, before another parent hugs their child for the last time. and also before someone like me is not alive to ask you to do so. thank you, madam chairwoman. >> thank you, miss pringle you are now recognized for testimony. >> good morning, chairwoman maloney, ranking member comer and committee members. i appreciate the test opportunity to offer testimony on behalf of the 3 million members of the education association and all of the educators who teach and nurture and protect our students. as a teacher with three decades of experience, i am frustrated, i am heartbroken, i am angry. this is where we are 23 years after columbine. on april 20th 1999 i have been a middle school science teacher in pennsylvania for 23 years. no experience or training have prepared me for the questions my middle level learners asked me as i joined my fellow teachers and shock and disbelief of the carnage that ended the lives of 12 students and one teacher. the only thing that comforted us was the belief that this would never let it happen again. but, the list continue to grow, didn't it? virginia tech, sandy hook, marjory stoneman douglas, and now robb elementary. kids were celebrating at the end of a successful school here. for 19 children and teachers. it would be the last days of their lives. these massacres occurring in suburban, urban, and rural schools are not isolated incidents. tallying up the number of killed or wounded children does not begin to tell the full horrific story. camille, a student who survived sandy hook, experienced severe set panic attacks for years. she is one of the more than 311,000 students exposed to gun violence since columbine. their trauma will likely and/or for the rest of their lives. students across our country are writing goodbye notes and wills just in case. unfortunately their fear is perfectly rational. here in america we are 25 times more likely to die by guy and then people in other developed nations. the question we must ask is, is this who we are? is it? our country has already experienced nearly 240 mass shootings in 2022 alone. that number does not begin to capture the scope of this event. every day gun violence kills 111 people. that means that we can expect 22,255 more deaths bygone this year. inaction equals acceptance of the unacceptable. and this crisis is worse and black and latino communities, where 78% of adults or their loved ones are victims of gun violence. the evidence is clear. where there are more guns more people are killed by guns. every single day the politicians who failed to take action ignore the majority of americans who want stricter gun laws. you tell our children protecting their matters less than protecting the status quo. a high school teacher in arlington, texas, survived a workplace shooting in a corporate setting only to experience school shootings himself. and countless lockdowns. he is now leaving our profession, with these words. as much as i love teaching, i cannot fully present, represent, and protect my students. i am not going to be the educator they need. a knife with so-called solutions that do not address the problem. we cannot place enough armed guards with every school building in america to protect our babies, we cannot ask educators to carry weapons and wear body armor while teaching and nurturing our students. because by the time someone has shown up with a military weapon it is already too late. we need for our students not more revolvers, you can help us to not only heal but to hope. pass common sense gun control legislation so that not one more community areas shattered, and not one more anguished parent likely heard today has to lay a precious child to rest. our children deserve the chance to grow and to thrive! to live into their brilliance! thank you for what i know you will do for our babies. >> thank you. commissioner -- you are now recognized. >> chairwoman maloney, ranking member comer and distinguished members of the committee thank you for the opportunity to participate in today's hearing, i appeared today as the major cities chief association. we are here today to discuss gun violence plaguing our nation. this hearing comes in the aftermath of multiple mass shootings that have devastated students throughout the country, including my home city in buffalo, our communities are hurting and we must continue to support them, the loved ones of the victims and our brave first responders. on may 14th 2022 and 18 year old white supremacist invaded our city and inflicted terror on the black community in a way never seen in buffalo's history. he legally purchased a military style weapon and body armor and then spent months practicing his shooting skills. he entered the tops supermarket and opened fire on civilians. striking 13 and killing ten, he livestreamed this with a gopro he had a fixed to his helmet. i retire buffalo police officer initiated the department's highest honor, the medal of honor, was working top security that. aaron was helping an elderly shopper with her groceries when the shooting began, he did his best to defend the shoppers. he engaged the shooter as he entered, hitting him with at least one shot. it is often said that a good guy with a gun will stop a bad guy with a gun. aaron was a good guy and was no match for what he went up against. a legal ar-15 with multiple high capacity magazines. he had no chance. assault weapons like the ar-15 are known for three things. how many rounds they fire, the speed at which they fire those rounds, and body count. this radicalized 18 year old adult should never have been able to have access to the weapons he used to perpetrate this attack. they laws need to be enacted to ensure it never happens again. buffalo police officers responded to tops and were able to take the shooter into custody within minutes, i have no doubt in my mind but their swift response time and handling of the situation saved lives. i would like to publicly thanked them and the rest of the buffalo police department for the heroism they showed on that day. buffalo is known as a city of good neighbors. we are a resilient, culturally diverse community. we came together after this horrific tragedy and we will continue to heal together. however, no city should have to go through this. it is time to make changes to a system that is leaving blood on the sidewalks of our community every day. in 2018 the mcc adopted a firearm violence policy that would help the stopping of infringing of the constitutional rights or weakening to process. these include requiring universal background trucks, strengthening in definitions and improving access to records. aggressively prosecuting and prohibiting aggressors, and banning assault weapons and high capacity magazines. polling shows the majority of americans support these common sense reforms and congress must act immediately to close the loopholes in our current system and the gaps that allow easy access to military style weapons. events like the puff a little massacre, the shooting in uvalde, that took 21 lives including 19 children. and, the mass shootings in luna woods and tulsa are the situations that capture headlines. however we must remember the gun violence epidemic extends well beyond this events. the grim reality is that shootings have become a daily occurrence in america cities. emerging trends like guns modified with switches continue to pose a challenge for law enforcement. congress must update our laws to accommodate for these new threats and carnage that has accompanied them. it will be nearly impossible for us to address the gun violence epidemic without first addressing the underlying violent crime problem. unfortunately the proactive policing that help struck down violent crime has become a luxury for many departments. law enforcement needs additional resources to bolster its response to violent crime. and overall lack of accountability for violent offenders is contributing to gun violence, in some major cities da's are not prosecuting serial firearm offenders and judges continue to release offenders on low or no bond. to address these challenges congress must provide resources for u.s. attorneys offices to support additional federal prosecutions as appropriate. police chief see the horror of gun violence every day. members of congress share our solemn duty to protect the public. the mc ca will continue to call on elected representatives to issue politics and take the necessary steps to address the gun violence epidemic. your leadership is needed now more than ever, thank you. >> mr. subpoena, you are now recognized for your testimony. turn on your mic please. >> good morning, chairwoman maloney, it's, comer and members of the subcommittee. my name is nick suplina, i'm senior vice president at every town for gun safety. we are the largest got violence organization in the country. i'm honored to be here today and grateful for the spotlight you are shining on americas gun violence crisis. once again, we are grieving. frequent public mass shootings terrorize the country and are a uniquely american problem. mass shootings often focused the public's attention and our grief, and with good reason. but they represent a small fraction of all gun deaths in this country, which include other homicides, suicides and unintentional shootings. every single day, 110 americans are killed with a gun and 200 more are physically wounded. we estimate that one half of all americans have been touched by gun violence, either directly or through someone they care for. in other words, we are a nation of gun violence survivors. to be clear, this burden is not being born equally. i'm talking about our children. guns are now the leading cause of death for children and teens. i'm talking about people of color. black americans experience ten times a homicides of their white counterparts. clearly, we are in the middle of a serious public health crisis. one that is crying out for sensible gun policy solutions, especially at the federal level. well gun deaths are hitting all-time highs, the gun industry is breaking profit records year after year. the gun industry uses fear to sow guns and it believes that mass shootings are great for gun sales. they are making money on these tragedies right now. so, when we talk about the shootings and you've all day and buffalo, when we talk about the toll of gun violence on our children, when we talk about the disproportionate impact on black americans, when we talk about gun violence cost taxpayers, survivors, families, employers are communities 280 billion dollars a year, we need to also talk about how the nine dillion dollar civilian firearms industry is shielded from the scrutiny and accountability that has led other industries to better and safer practices. the gun industry, for its part, his innovated not to make guns or us safer, but to make them more dangerous. more likely to evade regulation. more profitable. instead of designing firearms that can't be fired of stolen or that make it easy for law enforcement to trace, gun makers have created modifications to mimic automatic fire. they've created impossible to trace ghost guns that help circumvent background checks and they have designed ar-15s that could be modified in minutes to bypass a states assault weapons law, as we saw in buffalo. now, in a crowded field, gun manufacturers are trying to market in increasingly brazen ways. often tightening the deadliness of products, glorifying combat and attempting to appeal to younger and younger audiences. finally, let's not forget that the industry has done almost nothing to take steps to prevent diversion of guns into the criminal market and to gun traffickers. between 2016 and 2020, over 1 million of the industries firearms were recovered by law enforcement in connection to crimes. more and more of these guns carry the telltale signs that they were purchased with the intent to traffic or illegally use them. yet, the industry is rarely held accountable. this committee's investigations had a dealer in georgia where 20% of the guns it's old ended up on crime scenes, 10%. and we wonder why it's so easy for criminals to get guns. so, why is no one holding the gun industry accountable for its dangerous practices? in 2005, at the behest of the nra, congress passed the protection of lawful harms act, which protects the industry from most legal threats. again, because of the nra, congress passed the tr amendment, a budget writer that seeks to limit the sharing of data about guns used in crimes. which keeps the industry out of the conversation about how criminals get armed. these laws have to go. in spite of these barriers, i'm heartened that public and private actors and legislators, city halls, courts across the country, are taking action to reveal the industry's role in gun violence. in a grateful to this committee's investigation into gun trafficking at its recent letters to gun manufacturers. i hope you have the ceos appear here for testimony, because america hears every day from the families that have lost loved monster gun violence and our country deserves to hear from the ceos who are profiting off of their loss and pain. thank you. >> thank you. misses swearer, you are now recognized for your testimony. your mic. >> madam chairwoman and -- >> we still can't hear, you turn your mic on [inaudible] [inaudible] [inaudible] -- whether the real problem here is a pale shadow or that doesn't opportunities to intervene on the way. but it should matter to you. because you are the ones making public policy decisions. many of you are the ones implying that a lot of victims would be alive today if not for a mass shooters pistol given a background check that he already passed. many of you are the ones mocking anybody for, quote, talking about doors, when a single locked or and uvalde could have saved 20 lives, when all of us walked into today into this building today with its limited public access, points it's one-way locking security doors and it's plethora of armed officers. what's happened in uvalde and buffalo is horrific, it is horrifying. no one should ever have to experience that unpalatable trauma. and i cannot even begin to imagine what they are going through right now. everybody with a soul has it shattered over acts like this, and we have seen it shattered every single time. from columbine, to parkland, to you've all day. we did not somehow -- this didn't get easier for us. we did not grow numb somewhere along the way to the reality of this. it is not as though our family members don't also teach fourth graders or we don't also send our kids to school. it's not as though we don't also shop in chris resorts are gonna country music festivals or work in hospitals. as that we don't often also feel that horrendous traumatic weight of the tragedy summer deepened our souls, because we do. we oppose these policies precisely because the lives of these victims mattered. because the grief of their loved ones is real. because we all want thriving communities where families are flourishing instead of burying their children. the opposition has all always been, and still today, a genuine concern that these policies suffer from serious, constitutional and practical defects. that they will not have the impact you promise people they will. we have always proposed alternatives that would be more effective and less constitutionally suspect, but we have rarely been met with open hears. i hope, for the nations sake, that today is different. because i would really love to never testify after a mass shooting ever again. thank you. >> i want to thank all of you for your very important testimony. i recognize myself for questions. as a mother, it is hard to find words to express the grief and outrage i feel and others feel in this room, listening to the stories from our witnesses today. no child should be cut down by a gun. i lexi rubio should have been able to grow up, live her dreams, become a lawyer, major in math, visit australia. 11-year-old miah should not have been forced to cower in fear as she watched her teachers and friends be massacred. into the close knit, vibrant jefferson avenue community in buffalo, many of whom came today to stand with us, should not be forced to reckon with the violent death of friends and loved ones, gunned down by a racist with an assault weapon. we are in a crisis, but we are not powerless. congress needs to find the courage to act and i hope we find it today and we pass these sensible, and vote on these, sensible gun reform bills. let's start with assault weapons. i shooters and you've all day and buffalo are too young to buy alcohol but they were both able to purchase assault weapons legally. this pringle, as an educator, your organization represents millions of teachers. some of whom have witnessed horrific gun violence, some of whom have been murdered and its aftermath. with banning assault weapons save the lives of teachers and students? >> it absolutely would. there are many other common sense steps that we can take, we can strengthen back on, checks raise the minimum age to buy a gun. require waiting periods. commissioner gramaglia, you are on the front against gun violence every day in buffalo. with these common sense measures save the lives of police officers and others and your community? >> it absolutely would. -- accounts from other states with lax gun laws keep flowing into new york. why is it so important we pass federal gun safety laws? >> as we indicated, we removed 3000 guns off our streets. in addition to that, we have witnessed over 250% increase and what is called ghost guns. if we don't have a combined effort with the intervention items we put in place, the prevention and also stop the flow, many of the guns that we are witnessing our purchased or stolen from outside of our state. one gun in particular, a suspect was found with a gun that was stolen in july 27th, 2020. it was used in six acts of violence. individual cases, shooting individuals, shooting into a random crowd. the gun found its way onto the streets of new york. so, it's more than what we do locally, we need assistance with the partnership of the federal government to stop the flow of guns in our cities. >> other countries have taken comments and steps to keep guns away from criminals and they have succeeded in saving countless lives. we stand alone, in the world, with the number of mass shootings and deaths from guns. as you can see in this chart, the american people overwhelmingly support gun safety reform. so, mr. suplina, in your view, why has congress failed to adopt these common sense measures that most americans and most countries in the world have adopted? >> put it bluntly, chairwoman, the gun lobby presents a formidable obstacle in this country. oftentimes, you've heard it already today, the second amendment is used as a reason to not advance common sense gun reforms. even while the court has not said that the very reforms that you are proposing would violate. quite the opposite, the courts have upheld over and over and over again. so, the lobby does what it sees as its job, to make every gun law one step closer to confiscation. which is a lie. conspiracies abound about the government coming to take your guns and that gets into the head of well-meaning lawmakers who are afraid that people will believe that those myths are true. they're not true. we can do an awful lot to save american lives by passing these laws. >> we have lost too many lives to gun violence, it is long past time for congress to act. i now recognize the gentleman from georgia, mr. clyde. >> the thank you, chairwoman maloney and ranking member comer for holding this hearing today, so we can highlight the need for additional school security to protect our children. i joined the nation in mourning for the 19 children into adults who senselessly lost their lives to an evil act committed about two weeks ago. well every loss of life is a tragedy, no one should weaponize or politicize the abhorrent acts to punish law-abiding citizens. for almost 250 years, since the founding of our nation, countless hundreds of thousands of men and women have sacrificed their lives to provide the freedoms we enjoy today. indeed, those freedoms were bought at a very high price and should must be guarded continually so they can be passed on the further generations. if we allow emotions to drive our actions, actions that have constitutional altering consequences, we will destroy the very foundation of our country and break faith with those who gave everything that we would be free. evil deeds do not transcend constitutional rights, it's the other way around. constitutional rights are the ones that transcend evil deeds. with occurred in uvalde and other communities like sandy hook and parkland was nothing short of heartbreaking tragedies and evil deeds. heartbreaking and evil for the loss of innocent life, but also because, from what i've seen in the news about uvalde, i believe it was mostly preventable. we don't know all the facts yet, because the investigation is still ongoing. but i hope that this hearing is truly looking for legitimate, functional answers and not just a bunch of left-wing talking points to failed to do something, do anything mentality i've heard from the biden ministration. the press secretary, miss john, pierre said that president biden isn't interested in pursuing tighter security has schools in the aftermath of the uvalde tragedy. and i quote, i know there has been conversation about hardening schools, that is not something that he believes in, said miss schumpeter. one of the things i've learned during my three oversee tours during combat is that the harder the target you are, the less likely you will be engaged by the enemy. that is a proven fact in just common sense that applies across multiple aspects of life. for that to not be a part of the administration's focus just shows how seriously out of touch the democrat leadership is with reality. i want to echo mrs. hughes's remarks from the previous panel, schools should be a hard targets. violent criminals should never, ever have been able to gain access to the inside of the schools. that means schools across the nation should implement security measures like keeping schools, locked a single point of entry, better security technology and a volunteer force of well-trained unarmed staff in addition to a school resource officer. where school staff person has additional responsibility they should receive additional compensation. a retired officer for my district, an army colonel, that medium el a few days ago and i want to read a few sections of it. and i, quote i'm absolutely convinced that the single most effective method to eliminate school shootings to take away all the science that declare all schools are gun free zones and do away with all laws that require such postings. replace those signs with these words using these words are similar words, we love our children i will do anything to protect them. accordingly, selected teachers and staff are armed to train hard to protect our children. proceed at your own peril, you will be stop. the dramatic reason for the change of policy is simple, gun free zone signs don't protect anyone. they take away the law-abiding citizens ability to be a force in helping to protect the children, and they protect the would-be shooter because they believe they will be on opposed. from two 1950 32 in 2019, 94% of mass shootings occurred in gun free zones. it would be a school shooter doesn't know who is armed and who is not, they would likely move to a more vulnerable target. most potential school shooters are cowards at heart, they do not want to face a challenge to what they're trying to do, they want to be in control with no opposition. they do not like to be confronted by someone who had face-off against them because that confrontation would preclude a school shooter want to be from being able to take any unopposed action. to those who say that teachers or staff will likely not take up arms to protect their student, i say they will. there have been too many documented cases where teachers have heroically given their lives to protect their students. it's time to give them the tools and help them protect, to better protect those children, said they have a better fighting chance to survive an encounter with someone who is bent on harming them. for the record, if someone is intent on her make someone else, they will use whatever is available to do the job. be a hammer, a knife or whatever. there's a lot of insight in the words of this army colonel. he also knows the difference between a hard target and a soft, easy target and he knows the advantage of that difference. miss swearer, you are involved in the heritage foundation school safety initiative which was developed after the 2018 parkland shooting, correct? >> yes, sir. >> and your opinion, what do you believe should be done to secure our schools from violent criminals, to ensure that our students have a safe place to learn? >> i think there are, as i mentioned in my testimony and then again in my written submission, there are several avenues that could be taken. including physical security improvements. again, it has become popular debacle for talks about the wars and those first of things. but these are basic security components of the rest of our everyday lives. we see them in apartment complexes, we see them in the building we walked into today, we see the most corporate buildings that we walk into on any given day. in terms of having a quicker armed response, i think schools should have the flexibility to decide how that happens. if you look in my written submission, in a footnote, there are just from the last number of years a good number of examples, just a smattering of them because they don't want the footnote to be 12 pages, of our responses saving lives. whether from school resource officers or from, including in one case, from an arm staff member who stopped a kidnapping and prevented a armed individual from entering school or other children where. again, i think a key component of this is not just looking at physical security but also, as plenty of witnesses have mentioned, having the adequate mental health resources. we're not talk about blaming mental illness, but we are talking about, when you look at one, what it means for -- >> the gentleman's time has expired. >> i would end by saying, looking at license mental health professionals and schools. >> thank you very much, i yield back. >> the gentleman from massachusetts, mr. lynch, is recognized for five minutes. >> thank you, madam chair, thank you for holding this hearings. i want to thank the panel of distinguished witnesses, thank you for coming for this committee to help us with our work. i want to thank the previous panel, the families of the victims who had the courage and selflessness, i think, to, despite their pain, come here with the sole purpose of preventing other families from suffering a similar loss. so, i think them. madam chair, i would like to ask unanimous consent to submit for the record a report and analysis conducted by -- , alicia poppy anna and -- over at the new york times. it's an analysis of 106 mass shootings since columbine in this country. i want to read an excerpt, it describes best what they found. to quote this report, if they kegan control proposals now being considered and congress have law since 1999, four gunmen younger than 21 would have been blocked from legally buying the rifle as they used in mass shootings. at least four other assailants would have been subject to a required background check, instead of slipping through a loophole. ten others might have been unable to steal their weapons, because the efforts required to encourage safer gun storage. 20 individuals might not have been legally allowed to purpose the large capacity magazines that they used to upgrade their guns, helping them to kill, on average, 16 people each. taken together, those four measures may have changed the course of at least 35 of those 106 mass shootings. a third of such episodes in the united states since the massacre at columbine high school and colorado. that new york times analysis has found. those 35 shootings killed 446 americans. mr. suplina, there is been referrals, references made to the fact that someone could cause damage with a hammer or a knife. i would wonder if you could talk about ar-15-style firearms and their ammunition, and how different they are and the greater vulnerability it creates in society. i know you've written about this in the past, if you could go over that for a bit. just to educate people who are not familiar with that type of weapon. >> so, this type of weapon, which is derived from a military weapon, presents increased risk. as i believe the commissioner said earlier, because of their speed of bullet, their handling, their ability to accept high capacity magazines. they are designed and advertised to be able to inflict a massive amount of damage in a short period of time. they are, also, unique in the damage that is done to the human body when you use one of these. a handgun, even at a sometimes larger caliber, won't do the same damaged human tissue. i'm not a physicians, but you did hear from one earlier who described in great detail what a semiautomatic rifle with multiple rounds can do. so, these are unique threats, there is a reason why they're used in mass shootings. because those shooters want to inflict maximum damage. >> thank you. i do want to add a quote from a trauma surgeon at the university of arizona, who agrees with your assessment. he said that the damage for the ar-15 on the body, quote, looks like a grenade went off in there. madam chair, i am so sorrowful for the loss of lexi rubio and so many others. so many we have heard from in previous mass shootings. i will support the package of restrictions that we will consider in the next couple of, days here in congress, to restrict the use of assault weapons and high capacity magazines. and i will vote for the background checks that i think are necessary. i respect my colleagues rights to defend the second amendment, but i will note when, in defending the second amendment, you have to go to military experts and battlefield commanders for advice on how to protect our kids while they're in school. we've got a problem, we've got a problem. think about that. you are going to middle military, battlefield commanders, combat veterans, for advice on how to protect our kids when they're sitting in school trying to learn. i just urge my colleagues to think hard on this and consider supporting the package of bills that we have before the congress this week. thank, you i yield back. >> the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from texas, mr. sessions, is now recognized. >> madam chair, thank you very much. i want to thank the gentleman from kentucky, the ranking member, for really what i thought as a thoughtful opportunity for us to handle what is a difficult circumstance. i am a texan and i was about some hundred miles from uvalde, i know you've all day very well. i spent a good bit of time in san antonio growing up. as soon as i heard about what had happened, i immediately went about convening some ten counties worth of superintendents, mayors, county judges, law enforcement people, sheriffs, deputy sheriffs, school resource officers. i did not sit back and wait to find out what this hearing might develop, i did not wait to find out what someone else thinks is a good idea. i tend to think that, back home, people have the best answers. i'll say it differently, i think texans have answers for texas problems. madam chairman, i do not want to chastise anybody today, i want to thank a veto by people who have shown up. not only from buffalo but from new york city and others who have taken time to be here today. i do not wish to challenge anyone but, madam chairwoman, i would like to enter into the record an article from the christian science monitor weekly, to an 11th, and also an article which i had provided to you from 5:38, which is a website that they present information. for the panel, the 5:38 article said that we have known how to prevent a school shooting for more than 20 years. >> okay, without objection. >> thank you, madam chairman. in fact, as i went about looking at this, which i had not previously, i did a good bit of review myself and i found out that there is the national center for school safety. it's at the university of michigan, in the school of public health. they state that before and still, i quote, the information that we do have access to, these studies, seem to be saying that yes, by developing a positive school climate, by educating students on how to say something and speak up or find a trusted adult is having a positive effect not just on attitudes but also self efficiency. something we need to approach as we talk about behavior. we learned at my meeting that i had, in waco, texas, that this is not a decision that the shooters, by and large, make as a snap judgment. they go about this planning effort and planned these school shootings out. they happen to people who have become isolated in school, have been picked, on made fun of, have been bullied. and if these people go off into, by and large, a deep hole where they are not able to effectively balance their lives. this is a public issue a problem in our schools, of mental health issues. i go to schools probably every two weeks, at my observations that i have publicly stated are that i have seen our schools, there are a lot of children, a lot of young adults who are tested and ways where i think they are reaching out for help. i think that one of the things we should go to is looking at these studies that have been out here, and i would hope that our schools and our experts who are on these panels today, including you, chief, and you, mayor, would include these studies and go back to the schools. and let's identify, in our schools, where there is something we can make better. this article also says a work in progress, it talks about how talking to students every day. when i grew, up we would recite the pledge of allegiance to the flag, taking a few minutes. i know that we've heard testimony that everything about america's racist. but i think that in our classrooms we need to talk about our nation, our rights and our responsibilities, but taking every time time every day to be nice to each other. leaving notes, knowing each other and then listening to people who emanate and identifying people who have problems. it is my hope, madam chairwoman and our ranking member that, instead of taking to the floor this immediate action, we would really listen to you and other experts. madam chairman, i would like to see if we would call justin hines, who is director of the national center for school safety, system professor at the university of michigan public health. i believe we need professionals who have studied these things. i say this as an opportunity to each one of you. i want to thank you, we listened to you and i hope that you will hear us back. thank you very much and may god bless the people of uvalde, texas, who are struggling through this at this time. and our nation. madam chairman, i yield back my time. >> the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from michigan, mr. krishnamoorthi, is recognized. >> thank you, madam chair. commissioner gramaglia, thank you for your service to the people of buffalo. i was born in india and i emigrated first to buffalo, new york. so, the fact that you said it is a city of good neighbors it is very poignant for me. i'm very sorry for the loss of all those lives in buffalo. the shooter and you've all day tuesday we, what is called, it daniel defensive dm v seven rifle. it is a style of ar-15 rifle. it markets that rifle as a, quote, perfect rifle for everybody. this particular picture comes from their twitter account, on may 16th, 2022. now, commissioner, guns are the leading cause of death among young people aged 24 and under. guns kill far more kids than cigarettes, but we don't let a cigarette companies market to children. sir, you don't think it's appropriate for daniel defends or any manufacturer to market ar-15 style rifles or handguns or any other weapons to children, correct? >> i think that picture behind you here is very disturbing, is what it is. and no, i don't believe that should be the case. >> why do you find a picture disturbing? >> many children in our country, because of a lack of stay safe storage on weapons, have either accidentally taken their own lives or somebody else in that household or a another friend within that house who was there visiting. it's disturbing. >> shortly after the daniel defends rifle was used in the uvalde shooting, this picture was taken down from their twitter account. and indeed, their twitter account was made private. i think they had second thoughts about advertising in this manner as well. miss swearer, in 2019, while testifying before the house judiciary committee, you went viral in a viral video talking about the lethality of ar-15s. you said, quote, your mothers struggle to hit a stationary target from six yards out under ideal conditions, and then she picked up an ar-15 and i watch my mother put a fist sized grouping of lead in the center mass of a target 20 yards out. when accuracy and stopping power matter, they are simply better. you said that, correct, miss swearer? >> yes i did. >> this is a picture of the 19 children and two teachers who died in uvalde, miss swearer. he mentioned the air 15 stopping power, but i have to believe these little children were not the ones you are talking about stopping. correct? >> no, i was talking about stopping the individual who showed up to shoot them. -- the person who did show up to stop that individual was a bunch of law enforcement officers with an ar-15. >> miss swearer, your mic is not on. >> the green light is on. >> i can hear, you miss swearer. it's good, i can hear miss swearer. >> perhaps you could switch with mr. suplina for a minute, if his mic is working. >> though it needs to be heard. >> restore the time, please. >> thank you. >> can i repeat the question of then you can say the answer? >> if we could stop the clock for a minute, we lost some time there. >> can we change the placards to, mister chairman? >> mr. krishnamoorthi, did you want to repeat the question? >> yes, when you talk about the stopping power of these ar-15s, it wasn't the children that you are talking about stopping, obviously. >> no, i was referring to individuals like the one who went into that building and spent 78 minutes shooting them. and i hope, as was the case and you've all day, that the people who show up to stop shooters like that have the ar-15 precisely for stopping power. that is exactly what happened and you've all day, that is why cops are routinely exempt from these programs -- >> in this particular case, the shooter had legally purchase these ar-15 rifles and was able to stop and obviously and these lives forever. -- i want to address you again, commissioner. guns are often billed as essential to protecting the freedoms we have in america. they are an iconic part of america to a lot of people. the cars have long been central to american life as well and what we have seen, interestingly, is that -- here's a picture of traffic that's versus deaths from firearms. at one time, traffic that's far exceeded firearms, and 1950. but, overtime, trafficked us have gone down well firearm does have remained relatively constant. now, of course, with regard to the right to bear arms that it's in the constitution but it is not an absolute right. that is why we outlaw machine guns and we regulate firearms and other ways. sir, with regard to traffic deaths and cars, the imposition of the rules and regulations and laws along with private industry adopting safer ways to drive and devices to make them safer have led to a reduction in traffic deaths. but the same cannot be said for firearms, is that right? >> i believe you are correct, yes. and looking at the traffic that's going down, regulations both in vehicle safety, airbags, speed enforcement, other things of that nature have led to safer roads. >> what would that lead you to believe should happen with regard to firearms? >> some sensible regulations to limit the carnage that is happening on our streets. >> thank you, commissioner. >> thank you. gentlelady from north carolina, miss fox, is recognized for her five minutes of questioning. >> thank you, mister chairman. the horrific and heartbreaking tragedies that occurred and you've all day and buffalo have shaken the nation. we're all made in god senate, i continue to pray for our society and for the families of the men, women and children who are senselessly murdered. we must be thoughtful in how we discuss and address this issue. when the federal government acts in haste, the room for error is exponentially compounded. this problem should be diagnosed in its entirety before we endeavor to place proposals on the table. the simple truth is that top legislative actions from washington do not provide the states that do deference they deserve. the latitude of the states to make decisions that best suit their constituencies must be respected. the second amendment was intended both to empower individuals and also to shield them from the federal government exerting undue influence. unfortunately, overtime, the underlying principle of the second amendment has been distorted and misconstrued by washington bureaucrats who simply want it stripped away from law-abiding citizens. this cannot be allowed to happen. i now yield the balance of my time to the gentleman from georgia, mr. clyde, who has a tremendous amount of experience with these issues. >> thank you very much, virginia. i would like to ask mr. gramaglia, in your sworn testimony you say, of retired buffalo police officer, aaron salter, his weapon was no match for the military style weapons and armored the perpetrator was equipped with. yet, your buffalo police officers responded to tops a minute after receiving a 9-1-1 call and were able to take the shooter into custody within a minute of arriving at the scene. that's impressive. that's very impressive, that your officers were able to do that. this gentleman, armed with an ar-15 style rifle. what's the buffalo officer standard service weapon? >> a clock 40 caliber. >> a black 40 caliber pistol. so, they responded with a glock 40 caliber pistol and were able to subdue this gentleman in one minute? >> they were able to do that because, as he exited the store, he had to be ar-15 pointed up under his chin and then through, what i thought was very calm de-escalation language, he surrendered as weapon and put it down. had he pointed at the officers, i think we would've had a different scenario here. >> okay. but that 40 caliber weapon is completely capable of stopping someone with an air 15, correct? >> well, he had military style body armor and a tactical helmet on. he was shot at least one time that we uncover through our evidence, and that had no effect on him. i also watched the video, but this door surveillance video that has not been released and the gopro video that was downloaded which showed the confrontation between -- >> but the 40 caliber pistol about the officer carrie is plenty enough to stop an armed shooter, correct? it's all about shot placement, isn't it? >> it is and it isn't. >> all right, thank, you i appreciate that. mrs. swearer, actually -- have mass shootings or school shootings been carried out with other weapons, other than ar-15s? >> yes, congressman, they have. >> okay, what other weapons and what is the primary weapon, if you will? >> the primary weapon is actually a plurality, handguns alone. and other larger assignment are several variations of firearms, some combination of rivals and shotguns and then a smaller percentage are rifles alone. >> okay, thank you very much. so, handguns are still very, very potent firearms. madam chairwoman, i would like to introduce this article into the record and i request unanimous consent. it is a fox news, article may 20, age 2022. it is entitled, west virginia woman with pistol shoots, kills manic graduation parties, save several lives. >> without objection. >> all, right thank you. you know, what happened in uvalde was an incredible tragedy. and it had a very terrible ending. that's something very similar happened the very next day, that wednesday, in charleston, west virginia. a particular woman a particular woman west virginia fatally shot a man who had begun firing a are 15 reveling to acquire dozens. the woman was attending must-win your party, your pistol, and fight on the convicted felon. no one at the party was injured. and the gentleman obtained his weapon illegally. criminals will obtain their weapons however they want. it will get them illegally. more colors are not going to stop that, not in any way, shape, or form. because criminals simply do not obey the law. >> the gentleman's time has expired. >> madam chair -- >> i yield back -- >> i'd like to ask permission to research into the record an article, why won't something work, from the wall street journal, thursday, june 2nd, 2022. thank you. >> without objection. the gentleman from virginia, mr. connally, is now recognized. >> i think the chair and i thank our witnesses for being here today. i was the chairman of fairfax county when the virginia massacre occurred. at that point in american history, that was the worst gun massacre in our history. i buried 16 children, students, that week. six. i'm still in touch and with many of the families years later. and the emptiness in their hearts, souls, cannot be filled. it is a tragedy that lives with them forever. those children were killed by a mentally ill person who should not have had access to weapons, but did. he wasn't a criminal. he was mentally ill. we hear excuse after excuse that gun laws don't work. the australian experience would suggest otherwise. after a series of massacres in that country, australia adopted some strict gun laws. they don't have the massacres, weekly, we do. it changed behavior because it changed access to weapons and ammunition. we've heard the answer is on our teachers. that would be the solution. miss pringle, you deal with teachers. but that be a good solution from your point of view? >> absolutely not. we know that the majority of not only our teachers but our parents do not believe that arming teachers would in any way you prevent the carnage that we have seen for over 23 years. i just want you to imagine. i was a middle school teacher. my responsibility was to ensure that every student was nurtured and that they could learn, come to school ready to learn every day, and now the suggestion that i, as a teacher, would be responsible for carrying a weapon and making a split decision, split moment decision, about whether i was going to shoot someone or not, whether that responsibility would be mine to bear, that is a distraction from what we know we need to do in this country, which is to pass comprehensive gun control laws, something we have never done in. in the short time that we did bad assault rifle, rifles, solved assault weapons, we saw that carnage go down, generally? yes, we did. but we never passed comprehensive gun legislation in this country [inaudible] doing no. >> thank you. mayor adams, welcome. mayor adams, your the mayor of, i think, the largest city in the united states? >> yes. >> would it be a good idea from your point of view as the mayor of that c and your commitment to reducing crime in that city, to arm our teachers and all of your schools in new york city? with that be a solution from your point of view? >> no, and i think the facts show that between 1996 through 2010, one study found that police officers were three times more likely to die from gun violence with a heavy flow of guns in their city. so it's harmful to the law enforcement community, it's harmful to our civilians, and it's harmful to our children. >> mr. gramaglia, police commissioner. which arming teachers help your force? wouldn't have made a difference in your community in, buffalo? >> i think we have to be careful on is to not militarize our schools and make students feel like they are in a, no, he system where they are surrounded by weapons in an institution where they're supposed to be learning. i certainly agree with that hardening our targets, making sure our schools are safe buildings, having a strong school resource program where school resource officers are engaging with their students, or building trust within their students. but i think we have to, you know, caution against over weaponizing our schools. it's, it causes fears in our students, and i think we need to engage our students in these conversations. >> and just real quickly, and miss pringles point, the use of weapons and the decision to use them for law enforcement could be a split second judgment, and that requires careful training, does it not? >> it's a considerable amount of training for absolute split-second decisions that are second guessed for years on. >> thank you. i yield back. >> the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from georgia, mr. hice, is recognized for five minutes. mr. hyde. >> thank you, madam chair. just for the record, from what i can research and understand, there are some 300,000 or so crimes committed every year, violent crimes, in which guns are a part of the situation. there are between 500,000 and 3 million incidences a year where guns prevent violent crimes from taking place. so let's clarify here the issue is not gun violence. guns are not the issue. we have a people violence problem, who missed use guns and other means whenever they intend to harm individuals. and the answer to this situation when you have got violent people, dnc is not defunding the police, the answer is not putting one group of americans against another with, which we see far too often these days. the answer is not ignoring the rule of law. the answer is not releasing criminals into our cree streets, or allowing them into our country. the answer is not a lack of consequences for those who commit crimes and being soft on crime for those who commit violent crimes. we have got to look at the problem, which is violent people. and at some point in this country we've got to recognize that there is great value in upholding the rule of law. we've got to recognize and teach that there is a such thing as moral absolutes. not the least of which is respecting one another, and respecting life. we've got to, in the midst of this conversation, i believe, embrace religious beliefs. look, there are risks that come with a free society. we all understand that. but we have a moral and a spiritual crisis in this country right now, and that is reflected in violent people that we see more and more. but it is impossible for us to have a system of government which we have in this country, where we have limited government and maximum freedom if we do not have a citizenry that is capable of self governing their own lives with and authentic understanding of right and wrong. and so for us to take out of the equation any mention of moral absolutes or the role that our founders mentioned and described as indispensable supports to our system of government, which is a morality, religion and morality, that i believe we are making a mistake in all of this discussion. these things cannot be ignored. mayor adams, let me real quickly begin with you, and if we can go quickly. new york city is certainly one of the leading examples of gun restrictions and gun restrictive measures in the united states, yes or no? >> your mic was off. >> yes, i'm sorry. yes. >> and yet we all know new york and his concern continuing to see rising crime, yes or no? >> yes. >> okay. in january this year, you released an impressive statement regarding your blueprint to end gun violence in your accent, you had in that a quote that says this, it is illegal to carry a gun in our city, yet police officers take them off the streets every day in record numbers. you made a statement, correct? >> yes, and bernie comes from georgia. >> right. and so, here we still have, in a city that has the great, greatest, among the greatest gun restriction laws in the country, a rising crime and guns being carried off the streets in record numbers every day. it doesn't appear that the attempts that are produced by the gun restrictions are having any effect on keeping that people from getting guns. and taking the constitutional rights away from american citizens only helps criminals, is i guess what i'm getting to. miss swear, let me come to you. if we continue down this path of restricting gun rights from american citizens, making it easier for criminals to have targets, knowing there will not be guns by illegal citizens there to defend themselves, what kind of impact will that have in the long run? >> persona, detroit -- is my mic still not on? >> can we put a pause on. >> use your neighbor's mic, use your neighbor's mic. maybe that will work better. >> my apologies, i was told the issue had been taken care of. congressman, to answer your question. criminals are rational actors. you know, you look at the studies on this and the way in which criminals operate, obviously they don't want to confront someone with a firearm anymore than, you know, we would want to, if we were criminals. they are rational actors. you know, you mentioned the statistics on defensive gun uses a. i think that is important to point out. i would also note how much lower that is, you know, considering there are a number of states that essentially do not allow ordinary law-abiding citizens to protect themselves with firearms in public and or to make it far more difficult for individuals to keep and bear arms even inside their own homes. and so that could be considerably higher under different circumstances. you know, that's at, again, i appreciate you pointing that out. but again, criminals are rational actors. to pretend otherwise is borderline silly. so of course -- >> gentleman's time has expired. >> thank you, madam chair. >> the gentleman from maryland, mr. raskin, is now recognized. >> thank you, madam chair. buffalo, you've all day, sandy hook, tree of life, mother emanuel church, el paso, walmart, close nightclub, las vegas, columbine. the bloodbath continues. in the history of our species, a number of civilizations have practiced or allowed human sacrifice, including the sacrifice of children. the cottage unions, the mr. pertains, the incas, diaz techs, will we be recorded as such a society that accepts the sacrifice of innocence? gun violence is the number one cause of death in of children in the united states today which makes us globally unique. we have rates of gun violence and gun deaths 20 times higher than other industrialized nations like france the, united kingdom, israel, norway, sweden, japan. no other nation comes close to what we see here. even though we have comparable levels of mental health problems and mental he'll illness. will we continue to accept the slaughter of innocents, including innocent children, as acceptable collateral damage for loyalty to a completely bogus and distorted misreading of the second amendment, and what the seam for supreme court has said about it? justice scalia in the heller decision was emphatic that reasonable gun safety regulation is perfectly consistent with the second amendment rights. justice scalia said that he specifically rejected the view advanced by a number of our colleagues today. saying that the right of gun ownership is not unlimited, no, just to scalia stated, the second amendment right is, quote, not a right to keep and carry any weapon whatsoever in any manner whatsoever and for whatever purpose. he enumerated a partial list of reasonable regulations, including a ban on carrying concealed weapons, the possession of firearms by felons, the mentally ill and other dangerous people. laws forbidding the carrying of firearms into schools and government buildings and other public places, laws imposing the conditions and qualifications on the sale of firearms such as background checks. all of these things he has said are perfectly consistent with the second amendment right, it is not different from other rights we have like the first amendment. where you have an absolute right to speak, but you don't have a right to set up a demonstration with loudspeaker systems in front of the white house at 2:00 in the morning and keep the president's family up. we accept reasonable time place and manner regulations with respect to all rights. now, our colleagues invite us to believe the second amendment is some kind of policy straight jacket, but they won't read or quote the decision by justice scalia himself. who wrote the most elaborate defends and exploitation of the majority's view of the second amendment in d.c. versus howler in 2008. mr. suplina, in 2005, congress gave the gun industry unprecedented and unique immunity from civil lawsuits for crimes committed with their product. no other industry has got anything like that. can you explain with that immunity protection means for the gun industry and how it has blocked common sense laws to end gun violence in our country. >> yes, congressman, thank you. the law, placa, which is site has given near blanket immunity to the gun industry and the result has had a profound impact on what we know about the gun industry's role in gun violence as well as any accountability for the industry. so, act that would either have led to litigation that would have been exposed truths like what happened with the tobacco industry or accountability like what happened in the automobile industry. safety practices that would have improved at these manufacturers, because there is a risk of doing nothing, it simply does not exist with the gun industry. >> what recklessness marketing and practices has the gun industry engaged and because of this blanket of immunity that has been bestowed upon? them there >> there are several, and the marketing is getting increasingly reckless, increasingly desperate as a field gets more crowded. but also, in terms of distribution practices, i've heard several times today about how easy it is for criminals to get guns, outfit as if that some active magic. but these guys are all starting with gun manufacturers and gun sellers. we know that certain gun manufacturers are fueling gun shops that are selling disproportionately into illegal markets. the gun industry is protected by plcaa because they say they're following the law. well, the numbers speak for themselves. >> finally, chief, you are interrupted before. but do you make of this claim that we shouldn't have laws governing, for example, a universal criminal background check because criminals don't follow the law? is that an argument against having any law, against murder, rape, assault? because criminals by definition to follow the law? >> the gentleman's time is expired but the gentleman may answer. >> so, the universal background check is a simple process that is going to have those that want to legally obtain their guns with their constitutional rights to obtain those guns. criminals are absolutely not going to follow that. the more times that we keep flooding in with a background checks, without proper adherence to get those guns up through the straw purchases and other manners, that's where flooding the markets. so that criminals can acquire those. guns >> and justice scalia -- >> gentleman's time is expired. the gentleman from texas, mr. fallon, is now recognized. >> thank, you madam chair. we hold hearings on all sorts of topics for all sort of reasons. sometimes for political reasons or, even worse, sometimes for political theory aimed at obtaining political currency, courtesy that will then be spent on winning an upcoming election. other times, hearings are held to actually solve a problem. we are here today because of the tragedies in buffalo and the horrific loss of life in my home state of texas, and you've all day. a beautiful murky committee ripped apart by an evil coward. when lives are lost and innocence's toll, and particularly when children and the victims, it's natural to want to assess and focus blame. who did this and how did this happen. and i'm no different than any american, i'm heartbroken and i'm curious. those innocent children are gone and the indescribable suffering of the families is beyond words. we have a president that says continuously that we should do something, democrats are echoing, that we must do something. we must do something effect of that will keep our children safer. as i mentioned when a tragedy like this happens blades turn around. some people want to blame guns, samantha blame can manufacturers, some want to play, believe it or not, the constitution, some want to play multi political party. all of this could be more misplaced. the shooter is the only one who blame. so, when the president many democrats are claiming that guns are the problem and the readily available supply is the culprit, the more guns in america, the egg make a, as the more dangerous america becomes. but the actual facts blind is thinking. 1960, 1950 years, ago there are -- firearms in this country, today is about double, in 2016 hours 365 million. yet, the murder rate biden was nine point 6000, the murder rate in 2018 was -- twice the number of, guns yet the murder rate was cut in half. the truth is that guns have always been readily available in this country. but master dings, particularly mastering some schools, were nonexistent or at least extremely rare until they became a grizzly, recent phenomena. so, what has changed in the last 50 years? there has been a noticeable breakdown of the family, there's been an erosion of faith and there's been a seismic drop in social interactions, in large measure due to the use of these dang smartphones and the proliferation of social media. better described as anti social media. mass today's are not committed by successful, socially polished people. they're committed by stable loners with mental disease -- madam chair, can i get my time back? >> yes. >> thank you. senseless mass shootings are committed by unstable, loners with mental disease. refusing to address battle banter health services, especially for young people, is to do a disservice at best and it is a dereliction of duty at worst. the focus, sadly, by the democrats is to restrict or prohibit their legal possession entirely. a member of congress in a committee hearing just recently said, and i quote, we will not rest until we have taken weapons of war out of circulation in our communities. so, to restrictive gun laws are prohibitions work? the most dangerous nations on the planet, according to the world bank, are el salvador, jamaica and honduras. what else do they have a comment? it's also nearly impossible for in adversities and own a firearm and yet they are terribly perilous places to be. believe it or not, some democratic-controlled cities and our city with restrictive gun laws are even more dangerous in the aforementioned countries. st. louis has a higher murder rate than el salvador, baltimore does as well and detroit is more lethal and ages place to go and visit or lived in venezuela. so, that is passing prohibitions -- it simply doesn't work, doing something affected as a path that we should and must take. disarm law by the citizens you provide not more safety but more peril. the inconvenient truth for some on this committee and in this chamber is that more firearms in the hands of law-abiding citizens make us all safer. so, let's talk some real solutions. we must harden our schools with controlled access and cycle point of entry with a teared entry procedure. the main office should be located directly by the front door, which is a single access entry. classrooms or should automatically shot and lock like hotel room doors due. let's support a robust school martial program, where qualified a volunteer teachers and staff go through proper training to be armed on campus. let's increase the number of s araoz on our schools. let's leverage technology by putting cameras in our schools, much like texas did 15 years ago when i was on the city council, they had a center and a mobile command center. and effective immediately detected, tract and dealt with for us with. we need to plan rapid response trained to world class standards. and also a law enforcement doctrine must change, so that wherein there is a threat the schools are besieged but rather are heroes and blue advances and hone using techniques and teamwork and technology, to eliminate the threat isn't as possible. our goal should be to protect our children. no parent, educator, citizen, legislator or nation has a higher calling. let's look at real and effective solutions and shelled the divisive rhetoric, because american children deserve nothing less. thank you, madam chair, i yield back. >> thank you. the gentleman from california, mr. -- he's recognized. >> thank, you miss chair. like so many on this committee and around the country, i was deeply moved out as a politician, but as a father, by the testimony this morning of the families of victims. kimberly rubio, who lost her precious daughter lexi, cut through all the talking points, all the debate and asked the central question before our congress and our country. and she put it, what do we value more, children or our guns? it's really that simple. i want to talk about the common sense reforms on guns. but as a representative of silicon valley, i feel i also have a duty to talk about some of the role of social media. in this massacre. with the uvalde shooter on instagram having a group chat where there is conversation of school shootings, where there is conversation of threats of violence, where he's bragging about getting assault weapons. why is there no action? let's be very clear, these are minors, he was a minor when he did this. it's not the same free speech rights. mr. suplina, do you think companies like instagram should have some dispensability in group chats when miners are involved, if you have explicit discussion of school shootings, to do something? >> i think the role of social media company says it's an important one, and your right to pointed out, congressman. instagram, facebook, these are often where we see the earliest warning signs of a potential mass shooter. as well as other social media platforms, where these incidents are discussed. there's often multiple people in the chat. and i do want to also mention with respect to the buffalo shooter, for instance, he cited youtube for the videos that allowed him to modify the firearm that he had, to accept a detachable magazine, which used to deadly effect. so social media companies to have a role to play here. >> just like my colleague right mr. raskin said that the right of the second amendment is absolute, it's important to recognize that the right of the furthest amendment is not absolute. on the brandenburg, you can't have things that incite violence. and there are greater protections for minors. i mean, it is crazy to me that you can have people under 18 talking about shootings and mass shootings, and these companies are taking no action. so, we need to have regulation that gets to the heart of this. you know, mrs., i'm trying to understand your position. and i just want to ask you some simple yes or no questions to understand where you're coming from. is it your view that someone who is committed a violent felony should be able to purchase a gun? yes or no? >> no. >> is it your view that someone who is a serial rapist should be able to purchase the gun, yes or no? >> very clearly, no is it your view that someone who is a drug trafficker should be able to push that gun, yes or no? >> no, and these are becoming insulting. >> and so, well, i mean, so would you support any laws that would make sure that violent felons, serial rapists or people who are drug traffickers will not get access to a guns? >> if they are written and narrowly trailers to approach that issue without burdening the rights of law-abiding citizens are criminalizing low risk transfers between responsible citizens, yes, i'm more than willing to look at that law. >> that is exactly what the background checks, i mean because right now, you have a case is that the background checks do not cover a lot of the sales of two violent felons, the serial rapists. i just want to be clear, when the republican party, their position right now by opposing each are eight, is they are for violent felons, serial rapists, still being able to purchase these guns. >> no, they are not. >> yes they are. >> no they are not. they are going -- being privileged. >> reclaiming my time. >> point of order, madam chair. the position of the republicans is that valid criminals binge out. >> we'll know, the possession is -- >> madam chair, the gentleman has not stated a valid point of order. >> the position, hr it, all hr eat at its core set, is that violent families are still getting these guns. serial rapists are still getting these guns. and the law and order party that has demagogued the issue of law enforcement and policing, that party has said we are okay with violent from still getting these guns. we're okay with zero greatest still getting this guns. and all the commerce congress on the democratic side is trying to do is to close those loopholes. >> i respectfully refer you to my testimony on this very bill before the senate judiciary committee last genre i. explained how -- this characterization of our opposition to that bill. >> i am saying that there is not. >> gentleman's time has expired at. >> she kept interacting me. >> okay, all right. but then. the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. keller, is now recognized. >> i would first like to take a moment to thank all our panelists this, panel and the previous panel, for your testimony. we've seen some horrific acts in the commonwealth of pennsylvania. we saw a devastating shooting in philadelphia on saturday. and i continue, and we all should offer prayer for the families across the commonwealth of pennsylvania and across our nation that have been affected by these acts, committed by violent criminals. skyrocketing crime in our cities, that's what we, what we need to focus on. new york city saw a 16.2% increase in violent criminals shooting others in march of 2022. that's up from a year before. san francisco saw a 31% rise in homicides. in chicago, violent criminals were responsible for shooting 47 people on memorial day weekend, along. there is a trend here. crime is rising in cities that have the most restrictive laws on firearms, and have the least severe criminal enforcement penalties on the books. in fact, cities that don't enforce the laws that are on the books. the district attorney in san francisco has dismissed over 40% of felony convictions since 2020. and in philadelphia, on the sites have increased 58% during district attorney larry krasner's tenure. however, only 21% of crimes when violent criminals shot another person since 2015 have led to criminal charges. and less than one tenth of those incidents resulted in convictions. philadelphia police are making record amounts of arrests for crimes committed by violent people with guns. yet krasner's office has dismissed or withdrawn more violent cases every year he has been in office. the bottom line is when you fail to enforce the law and hold criminals accountable, you get criminal behavior. so miss swearer, how does a failure to prosecute past or current crime affect crime rates in the future? >> well, it's certainly involved in criminals and reasonably allows them to believe that there's a very little chance that they will be punished or in any way held accountable for their crimes. >> many of the proposals we are discussing today are widely implemented across the municipalities where crime spikes are happening. would limiting law-abiding citizens right to own a firearm trove of these disturbing trends? >> no, it would not. and i would also point out the reality of most gun violence is not that it's being perpetrated by people who lawfully purchase and possess their firearms. it is largely perpetrated by individuals who had long histories of violence who obtain their firearms already through illegal and illegitimate channels that are not addressed by, universal background checks. because they are already circumventing the law regarding those background checks. it's a very low reward endeavor even if it's 100% enforceable. >> okay. what measures should be taken to ensure victims and their families are not legally ignored in favor of defendants? >> i would, again, referred to some of my previous assessment. i know our time is short. previous testimony that has given before the senate judiciary committee on gun violence in chicago, and a lot of that is still applicable to your question. you know, from a federal perspective, as i said, if you continue to enforce federal laws and hold criminals accountable at a federal level when possible, and encourage state and local counterparts, some of whom have done it horrific job of this, to do the same so, so a question. there's a call there, next system, and when you purchase a firearm, as i don't know how many people in this room have ever gone through a background check, but it does ask questions i, know it was brought up earlier, about criminals being able to purchase guns. is it not already illegal for rapists and murderers and people who have done domestic violence and convicted of these things, isn't it already illegal for them to purchase firearms >> to purchase and possess, assuming they are felons and have not had the rights restored to them under existing state or federal processes. there is no process under federal law, so it would just be under the state. >> okay but the point is we're not saying that criminals should have laws, or saying criminals should be put in jail. law-abiding citizens should be allowed to lawfully possess firearms. >> that is certainly what i'm saying, and that is my understanding of what every member who has opposed hr eight is saying as well. >> thank you, i yield back. >> gentleman yields back. gentleman from maryland, mr. mfume, is recognized for five minutes. >> thank you very much, madam chair. there is an old saying that your pans where your passion is. let me just go back to where we started, almost three hours ago at the beginning of this hearing. and talk for a second about the pain that i felt, as i hope many of you did, listening firsthand the accounts of witnesses and victims from you've all day and from the flow. you listening to them today, i am still stunned and heartbroken. the gun carnage that continues in schools and supermarkets and movie theaters, in churches, on the streets of my baltimore and the streets of cities all over this country, is a cost, ladies and gentlemen, that we all bear. whether we want to or not. the gun laws that we hope will be passed today i hope are seen as a beginning, not the end. only as a beginning. otherwise, i really believe that we are doomed in our fight against murderers and the guns and the evil and the pain that they spread. i want to acknowledge and thank the gentleman from louisiana, mr. hagan's, the commissioner from buffalo and the mayor of new york, all of whom served in law enforcement and saw firsthand how difficult it is to deal with the violence perpetrated by guns. particularly assault weapons. i want to associate my remarks with those of mayor adams, when he said let the atf do its job in rounding up so many illegal guns that are on our streets and to finally confirm a nominee. madam speaker, madam chair, you remember 1994? we were members of this body, we worked for a whole, year a whole year, to put together and pass and assault weapons ban. the only reason it wasn't permanent was because we weren't able to get enough people, members, on the other side of the aisle, unfortunately, to go along with that. and so, the compromise was a ten-year ban on assault weapons, which expired in 2004. i'm just shocked that 18 years has gone by and its body has not moved to reestablish that. in 1999, as a president of the naacp, i filed suit against the gun industry. it took us three years to get to court because the nra did everything they could to keep it from not happening. finally, in 2003, we went to court and i testified in brooklyn, new york, for over a week. but we didn't have the weight we needed and the nra was a bigger force than we could deal with. and so, we lost that, but the judge, to his credit, said this does not prohibit the fact that there certainly will be other lawsuits like this. the nra heard those words and took them to heart and spent the next 18 months putting in place an absolute immunity on the gun industry. and, unfortunately, was able to get this congress to pass it and signed into law. it is just unbelievable that we will give absolute immunity to any industry in this come tree, particularly when there is harm and personal injury. so, i think, more than anything else, i was stunned a little while ago in hearing the gentleman, my colleague on the other side of the aisle, saying that he had sought out advice from a military commander about how to protect schools. and that the advice was harden the target. and miss swearer, when you are asked to comment on that, you said absolutely hardened the target. , oh that's fine. except how do you harden a supermarket? how do you harden a church? how do you find a way to go out and hardened movie theaters? if the only answer is hardening the target, we have already capitulated. i'm telling, you i'm so glad that so many people are focused on this hearing around the country so they can see firsthand what is going on here. we have a problem that is not going to go away. every year it gets worse. and so, until we are prepared to do what we were sworn, constitutionally, to do, to protect this country from enemies, foreign and domestic, we would have failed. madam chair, i yield back. >> the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from louisiana, mr. higgins, is now recognized. mr. hagan? >> thank you, madam chair. commissioner gramaglia, looking at your presented statement, sir. he said you support confiscating guns from individuals determined to be a threat to themselves or others, determined to be. so, by this legislation my colleagues are putting forth, my understanding of the letter of that law, which i 1000% oppose, as with our founding fathers, the letter of that law says an anonymous tip from a citizen. if this was law, commissioner, would you confiscate, would you go to your neighbor's home and confiscate his legally owned weapons? a man that was not under criminal investigation nor under arrest, would you do it? >> the red flag laws would -- >> that is a yes or no, rather. i have five minutes to make an air and a half statement here. >> it's more than a yes or no answer -- >> will move on then. if you cannot say yes, he would confiscate weapons from an american citizen that was subject to this law that my colleagues intend to push through this congress. and you said in your statement that you would confiscate those weapons of an american was determined to be, your quote, a threat to themselves or others. according to the letter of the law, determined to be is defined by an anonymous tip. that an american citizen is a threat to themselves or others. you are a police commissioner, i thin blue line bothers, worn to uphold the constitution. and you're saying he would seize those weapons, i see that is a problem. i'm going to bring us back in time to world war ii. america's population, 140 million, 15 million american man came home from world war ii with deep scars and significant skills. they bore the invisible wounds of war and there were weapons everywhere. talk about mental challenge. my father was one of those men who is a navy pilot world war ii, he came back for the war and build his family. i am the seventh of its eight children, i was born in 1961. we had guns everywhere, there was virtually no regulation. any child in the 50s could buy a weapon from any cell or if they had the money. we didn't have mass shootings. it wasn't until 1968 in america that serial numbers were even required on weapons sold in this country. you can order weapons to the sears catalog, by the mail. in the seven days, i attended high school, a large rural school, virtually every vehicle in the parking lot had a picking law and almost everyone had a shotgun in the back and a shotgun under the seat. and we didn't have school shootings. 1979, ivan college, one of the jobs i had to work my way through college was added arp under. we restored historical buildings, we had to determine in the process of that work what was the original cuts of these homes, residential homes built 70, five 80, five 100 years ago. you could tell by the socket if it was a mechanical, cut and electrical cut or hand cut. by such observations we knew exactly how that house was originally built. so my amazement, as a young man, beginning college in louisiana, working, to my amazement, you know it i discovered, madam? chair you know what these houses did not have? the revolt 100 years ago? in cities in america? you know what they did not have, commissioner? locks! locks. now, i ask you all, would happen to that country, then? a country where homes were built in cities with no locks, a country where guns were everywhere and virtually not regulated at all. we millions of americans, 14 million americans, came back to 11% of the population at the time, after world war ii, with incredible skills of war and weapons of war, as you call them, everywhere. but we didn't have mass shootings. and here we sit today, where an entire, once proud democratic party, is presenting unbelievably unconstitutional laws to press upon our nation, and we have a police commissioner that says he would go home to home and confiscate legally-owned weapons if he got a tip, madam chair, i yield to my speech, but i will not yield my opposition to these unconstitutional laws. >> the gentleman's time has expired. the gentlelady from new york, miss ocasio-cortez, is recognized. >> thank you, madam chairwoman, and thank you to all of our witnesses here today. i apologize if i go quickly. we just got five minutes and a lot of work to do. let's talk facts here. there was a lot of discussion about new york city. there is no discussion about gun violence in new york city without discussing the iron pipeline that is florida, georgia, south carolina, north carolina, virginia, pennsylvania and honorary mentioned to ohio, where 70% of likely illegal trafficked guns funded new york city come from. there's no discussion of gun violence in chicago without talking about indiana. because the violence and the mothers of that we have to comfort are losing children due to the guns and the carnage and the lawlessness unleashed by those states. i move on. every week in recent memory, we have had at least one mass shooting. miss pringle, you are the president of the national education association. you represent teachers. between 2009 and 2018, how many school shootings did the united states have? >> 288. >> 288. now, let's look globally. our g7 partners, canada, france, germany, italy, japan, and the united kingdom, combined, how many did those country, how many school shootings did those countries have? >> five, 50 times more five. in ten, almost ten years. 288 versus five. this is not normal. not only is it not normal, it is internationally embarrassing and delegitimizing to the united states. because for all the billions and trillions that they spotted authorizes in the name of national security, we can't even keep our kids safe from their school's been turned into a war zone. now, let's talk about why. let's talk about one thing more important to lobbyists and the gun industry than children, and houses of faith, then human beings. let's talk about profit. mr. suplina, in 2020, 22.8 million guns were sold, reflecting a 64% increase from 2019, correct? >> correct. >> in one year. and across the board, gun manufacturers and ammunition companies began to see record profits, is that right? >> that's correct. >> now let's put into, that into context. in 2020, again, more than 45,000 americans died by gunfire, reflecting and almost three fold increased from 2015. are those statistics great? >> that's accurate. >> so in your view, are you seeing a correlation between gun profits and gun deaths in the united states? >> yes. >> this is about blood money. between 2019 and 2021, two years, leading gun manufacturers storm and rigor saw gross profits double to almost 200 and $80 million. in fact, during earnings call there, ceo called the sailors boom, quote, historic, ferocious, and that the future was bright. i want after that and ar 5:56 pistol murdered ten people at a supermarket in boulder, colorado. those profit margins, $280 million, went good, to lobbing. is that correct? much of that goes to lobbying, correct? >> significant about to go to lobbying, correct and can you remind us what the gun industry is lobbying against when it deploys these lobbying resources? >> they are lobbying against every law that would regulate firearms, period. >> and can you briefly tell us how gun companies have put extra profits directly into lobbying against gun reform, and as an advocate in the space, what have you seen? just name, rattle of, some of the measures that they have, just a few, that they have lobbied against him? >> lobbied against, they've lobbied against background checks, which on, on all gun sales, which would in fact, as was mentioned earlier, would allow for the would-be criminals to obtain a firearm from a law-abiding citizen without a background check to. criminal would be breaking the law, but we couldn't stop that. they've lobbied against red flag laws which would temporarily deprive after pew due process a firearm from somebody who priebus is a threat to themselves or other. that is a court adjudication. >> thank you. >> everything. >> thank you very much. and for context, the nra spent about 200 and $50 million in 2020 alone. that's more than twice the entire salary of congress combined. in one year. lobbying against gun safety laws. there's also this discussion about anything but a gun, but these are about a violent people. but yet we aren't doing anything about addressing the actual roofs causes of misogyny, where two thirds of mass shootings are connected to domestic violence, or the emergence of white supremacy radicalization, mass incarceration and poverty, and the connections between that and mass shootings in our communities. i yield my time. thank you, madam chair. >> the gentlelady's time is expired. the gentleman from wisconsin, mr. gordon, is recognized for five minutes thank you very much, last couple of weeks -- -- to make them and they brought up an issue that i wasn't expecting to hear, but a couple of border patrol guys pointed out to me that that firearms were very, very regulated in mexico and you do a little google search and you find out a recent article in the wall street journal journal the, the first six or first nine months in 2019, mexico with some wildly difficult laws, and a murder rate of six times that in the united states. not six that's 6%, not 60% more, but assuming you got it right, maybe it was cherry-picking the year, i don't know. six times as many murders as in the united states. i assume the mexican officials who put these laws in effect thought they were going to save lives at the time. but they made it so difficult for law biding mexicans to get a hold of a firearm. but obviously, the results of the laws was not to make mexico safer. there are thousands, probably tens of thousands of people who have died now in mexico under the current rules connected to ownership of guns. we've also in this country had a dramatic increase in the number of deaths from guns, the last two years, since kind of the beginning, at least expansion of the eye a plea i hate police movement, which i blame for all of the young people and not so young people who have died in the last two years in this massive increase of murders that we've seen almost, unprecedented. first of all, i'd like, mrs. swearer, to comment a little bit on mexican statistic and comment on the dramatic increase in the number of homicides in this country in the last two years, not because it's easier to own guns but, kind of because rhetoric, a lot of the rhetoric coming out of this building this, anti police rhetoric. >> congressman, i will respectfully refrain from commenting on the statistics you pointed out from mexico. i'm not overly familiar with any of the underlying causes. i will, you know, to the greater, point say mexico's two might whiteness one of the only other countries in the world with a right to, quote, keep and bear arms, which is sort of a misnomer in that country, as you point out. so it's fundamentally different understanding of what that means then, clearly, in our country. as to i'm, sorry, please remind me of the second aspect? >> well, the massive increase in murders in this country in the last -- >> look, i think it's hard to pin that down to any, like, one simplistic notion of what is causing that. certainly, i think, problems with the policing and calls to defund the police, loss of trust between communities and police members that, that all plays a role, as i pointed out in my written submission. >> okay. >> i think it's a number of things. >> i'll give you another question, then. this week i'll be [inaudible] -- something called astute and teacher safety act, which will allows schools to use existing grants they have meant in part for improving school conditions, and learning, to improve or boost school safety. following the uvalde shooting, the white house press secretary said that president biden does not believe in hardening schools to provide more security resources or law enforcement officers. if these measures can be effective in preventing another mass shooting, why do you think the president is not open to hardening schools this way? >> i cannot read the president's mind. but my guess is he would rather focus on other ways of addressing it. but also very quickly, point out, to reference something congressman for me said, it too seem to infer that we only care about or only mention one aspect of a greater issue, which is only focusing on physical security. congressman, i respectfully, don't, know if you were here for my opening statement, i have not read my written submissions, but i respectfully have pointed out roughly a dozen other issues as well. this is comprehensive nature, it is not one thing or the other. it is both -- >> i've been here for three hours, since before the hearing started. i heard your testimony. my reference was to schools, and my reminder was -- >> chair i, think is out of water. >> the gentleman is not recognize. >> the witness will address me, madam chair. >> okay. >> could you give me another few seconds back someone? jumped in there. well, could you give us, if president biden is going to stand between us and trying to improve the physical security in the school districts, can you give us other ideas that we can use to prevent these tragedies? >> sure. as i mentioned, in both my written and oral testimony, i think we can focus very clearly on building up the nation's mental health infrastructure, both specifically in schools, and generally across the board. we are talking about two thirds of them got every year that are suicides, which is clearly, police into an aspect of mental health, which is problematic. we are talking about mass shootings, individuals who clearly show signs of being a danger to themselves or others, but who are otherwise, you know, not felons yet, and oftentimes cannot be involuntarily or involuntarily simply committed so looking at, you know, targeted interventions with adequate means of due process, and also just behavioral risk assessment. you know, we talked about is that graham and threats on instagram. was concerning to me is that so many people show somebody signs, especially in of all day, and it appears nobody reported that more news after what about or did think anything would be done about it. >> as gentleman's time has expired. okay, the gentlelady from california, miss porter, is now recognized. >> swearer miss, in 2019, you testified representative cicilline's bill, decide weapons than before congress. at the 2019 hearing, representative jim jordan asked you if law-abiding people will be less safe to protect themselves if that bill will be passed. do you remember your response? >> i have a general idea of what i would have said under that circumstance. but no, i don't remember my specific words. >> you said, and i quote, i think weight and that, sir. you will see millions of otherwise law-abiding citizens become felons overnight. >> yes. >> for nothing more than having scary looking features on firearms. >> that's true. >> i was quite surprised by your answer. you read the bill before you came to congress to testify against it, yes? >> if we are referring to is a ban on assault weapons? >> correct. >> yes. >> so you know you knew that the bill would allow any gun owner to maintain possession of any semiautomatic assault weapon that was a lawfully possessed before the bill became law. >> no. so that -- give me my time, madam chair please instruct the witness that my time belongs to be if. >> you don't want to hear an answer to my question, i'm not sure what -- asked. >> the gentlelady has retained her climb claimed her time. >> so you know that about, you said response into my question that you need a bill would allow the gun owner to maintain possession in any semi automatic weapons as lawfully protests before the ball came slow, miss swearer i, will respect that we have different opinions on representative cicilline's assault weapons law. that we cannot have different facts. we have a duty to debate the merits of proposal. you falsely testified under oath that that ball would -- >> like a explanation -- >> no, have not yield, because swearer. >> madam chair, if she's going to ask questions, should she not let the witness have time to answer? >> the gentleman is not recognized. >> you falsely testified under oath. >> point of order, under order. >> what's a gentleman's point of order. >> i have been falsely accused of falsely testament line but i would like -- >> the gentlewoman has accused her of perjury. is she going to hold to that, or are you going to allow the witness to respond to that accusation of criminal conduct? >> you have not come forward with a significant point of order. this party will continue. >> i asked you if that bill was a lot, if the bill would allow a gun order owner to maintain possession and you said yes, yes you testified that the bill would allow people to become felons overnight. earlier today, you testified that you hoped that this was the last time you testified before congress for. the sec of our nation and the integrity of this congress -- >> congress after a mass shooting, trying to figure out how to solve a problem that we are heavily invested in solving. >> ms. swearer i, have noted -- asked my question. >> point of order! point of order! >> reclaiming my time, how dare you misstate the law. >> rj ask a question that you did not even wanted an answer to? >> with swearer, i'm moving on. i'm 11 consumer protection advocate. from 2015 to 2020, there were at least 2070 unintentional shootings by children, 765 of those children died. the consumer product that causes this much harm to the public would normally be subject to every call. but federal law prohibits the consumer product safety commission, the agency responsible for protecting the public from dangerous products, from regulating guns this is absurd. after one child died using a pilot peloton treadmill last year, the consumer product safety commission intervene and recall the product. but when hundreds of children die using guns, there is no federal response. there is no federal safety standard for guns. even though 40,000 americans call themselves or other people in hundreds of accidents every year, instead of regulating guns like any other consumer product, federal law protects gun manufacturers. it teenager can watch a video online and learn how to modify a rifle to make it more deadly. and the gun industry avoids any liability if that teenager uses that modified rifle to fire repeatedly and rapidly at innocent people, even though their products could be designed to prevent unsafe modifications. i want to give an example. in 2001, he 13-year-old boy named billy accidentally shot his father's hand gun and killed his friend, josh. billy mistakenly thought that the gun was unloaded, because he had removed the guns magazine. justice family sued the gun manufacturer for failing to warn billy and other consumers that the product could be fired without a magazine. it's a simple case that should have been decided by a jury, as this provided under the constitution. instead, because of the gun industries immunity, the gun manufacturer was able to dismiss the case without a trial. every pharmaceutical company failed to warn customers about genuine risks of one of their drugs, they could face thousands of lawsuits. but we allow the gun industry to sell weapons without taking any precautions to protect children and families from fatal accidents. mr. suplina, do you think the gun industry would do more to protect children of congress and in their immunity? >> absolutely. >> would ending the gun industry immunity put gun manufacturers out of business? >> no, it would not. >> in the 1990s, a lawsuit forced big tobacco to pay for the harm that caused by marketing cigarettes. just last year, big pharma agreed to pay 26 billion for communities devastated by opioids. >> madam chair -- >> of gun violence also deserves their day in court they? deserve justice. yield back. >> the gentlelady's time is expired. >> madam chair i have a parliamentary, -- >> gentlelady's time -- >> madam chair, madam chair, point of order. again, miss porter accused our witness of perjury. that's a very serious accusation, accused of lying before -- >> madam chair, the gentleman has not stated the proper point of order. that's not a proper point of order. >> part of our juries with just -- >> a witness of perjury -- >> madam chair, the gentleman is not stating a proper point of order -- >> usual suspect -- >> the gentlelady will suspend, gentlelady will suspend the, gentleman will suspend -- >> a very serious issue -- >> not recognized. mr. cloud, you are now recognized. >> thank you all for being here. thank you, madam chair, and obviously this is a very, tragedy that's heartbreaking for all of us, and naturally, coming out of this as we look for solutions, emotions are naturally high, because we are aggrieved by the fact that we see this in our nation. there's going to be 1002 reasons why, why we're asking and the investigations are ongoing, obviously. some answers of course it will never even, the clerk loses we could come up with will, of course, never answered the cry of a parent who has lost a child. i don't think any of us who have children can understand that. our hearts just break for what we've seen. as we move forward, we have to continue to figure out how we propose solutions that actually create solutions. very often, in this congress, we do things out of the best of intense, and have the worst of results. and a lot of data, a lot of data that points to the fact that gun controlleads not to more safer communities, but to more dangerous communities. for example, one of the proposals out there right now is to raise the age of being able to own a rifle. and in our federal society, we have many states and so we are able to kind of test these things out. and as far as i know, the only peer revd article study that's been done on that, it's in the journal of law and economics, talked about it and looked at it, and said that if anything, there was a 6% increase from state states who began to implement each requirements, or raised it requirements. so we have to tread passionately, but very carefully, as we continue to put, address this from a policy perspective. i'd like to bring a topic that i think needs to be added to this conversation and. representative hice and pickens touched on this quite a bit. because a lot of times here in congress, we all measure, politicians like to get away with measuring our personal compassion. usually it's on the spending bill, so we all measure our personal compassion by how much money of other people's money we spend. and generally, it's the more money we spent, the more compassion we have, in a sense. i've always found that absurd. in the same way as we do this, it would be wrong for us just out of the sake of doing something, to measure our personal compassion by how much of other peoples constitutional rights we take from them and give to the federal government. and it's important to point any out in history that anytime a federal government takes authority, it's always for altruistic reasons. the danger comes when the next person in charges or what happens after that. and many times, that power is taken under good intentions, then used nefariously, much later. so, we have to be very careful about that and we have to keep history in context in mind and all of this. and the other thing i would say is that we should not think that any of this is mono causal. there's not one thing that caused this. there is a lot of things. but one thing i would low to throw in the mix of this, because if there is a common denominator as we look across this, it's not age so much, it's not a foreign used or the type or even how it was required, as much as it is we see when we look at crime in our communities, when we look at the societal decline, we are in decline as a nation when it comes to the moral and societal decline of our nation. there's no doubt about it. and one of the biggest factors that is a common denominator across much of this is simply broken homes, fatherless nerves. a doj study for the journal of research and incrementally crazy reports that the most reliable indicator of violent crime in the community is the proportion of fatherless homes. it 2019 met us 30 in the journal of psychology, crime and law found that growing up in single parent families is associated with elevated risk of involvement in crime by adolescents. in 2019 study from the pew research center finds that the u.s. has the world's highest rate of children living in single parent households. national fatherhood the national fatherhood initiative is compiled some data, and its people from adolescents from faultless phones are more likely to commit crime, more likely to end up in prisons, they're more likely to end up in poverty, and so we have to figure out, for a long time our government has subsidized even, and promoted policies that have continued to break down the home. and we have to do what we can to make sure we come back to this, and i would just like to give whatever time remains to miss swearer to address the perjury charges that have been made against you the gentleman's time has expired. >> oh, my apologies. >> the gentle from florida, miss postman schultz, is now recognized. >> thank you madam, madam chair. gun manufacturers didn't always market weapons or disability, and until recently, treacherous didn't make military style guns available to the general public. now, can makers aggressively market ar-15 style weapons to civilians and actively tied him to military and law enforcement weapons. smith and western, americas largest gun manufacturers, even developed a name for this marketing ploy, calling it the, quote, halo effect. now i, want to draw your attention to the screen. mr. suplina, i want to ask you about one edge retirement that i find troubling, this one. this is an out for daniel different empty 18, a high-speed military style ar, similar to the daniel defenses are used at the robb elementary school shooting in uvalde. the ad states, quote, use what they use. and that the gun features, quote, military adopted technology. mr. supplement, do you believe the associations made in this advertisement are appropriate for a civilian? >> no, but they are very effective at selling military style weapons to the civilian population. >> reports on this gun indicate that it's a favored by special forces. i would like to ask daniel different why the same style guns being used in war zones should be marketed to every gay people. it is clear who can makers are marketing to -- let's 14 or jimmy in the -- massacre my own community. fred filed an ftc complaint alleging that swift mess to meet first person video games to attract adolescents and young adults. so as investors ms-13 to 23 caliber rifle was used in the parkland massacre. mr. suplina, what level of culpability should gun manufacturers have when the market human killing machines to a civilian customer base? >> again, this is now, unfortunately, increasingly the norm among gun manufacturers, to market using the, you know, video game style ads, daniel defensive self referenced popular video games in his advertising. in its advertisements, and they should be held accountable for this. >> thank you. commissioner gramaglia, i'd like to turn to you next. i want to put another advertisement on the screen. this is an advertisement for a bushmaster exum 15. is that the same gun that was used in the mass trading at the top supermarket on may 14th yes, it was. >> this advertisement shows a soldier with a bushmaster and in states, quote, versatile injury on the radio during patrol. your officers were actually on patrol that they, and many of them responded to the active shooter seen with far less advanced weaponry. how do you prepare officers to protect themselves and put the public for military commissions every day i? know it was referenced that, you know, no problem that they had, you know, adequate weapons to be able to defend themselves, but is that the case? >> because this weapon, no. we have active shooter vests that we have in our patrol cars. you can't wear them on a regular basis. if they're far too heavy. it's something that you would have to grab and put on, if you have the time to do it. >> thank you. president pringle, i want to turn to you. you've worked closely with teachers and students for years combatting gun violence. without missing all gun forms, students are forced to practice children as i know yesterday we talked about the high schools students for my children's has come alma mater to mark the success of that fundraising drive to put stopped obliquely it's in every classroom on that high school campus. i mean those are kids that are meant to triage a bleeding booed. street is not proper the time that they have that, they haven't school in the event that they are facing an active shooter. and that they may bleed to death from gunshot wounds. what kind of traumatic effect does normalizing gun violence to disruptive measures have on students? >> we have seen over the years and increase in anxiety, an increase in the number of students who are seeking additional assistance from a mental health professionals. we are seeing an increase in the amount of students who are coming to our schools with all kinds of social and emotional learning gaps because they have been subjected to overly aggressive drills and looking at social media and tv and seeing other students suffer and die at the hands of gun violence. >> marketing mass killing machines to a civilian customer base by using imagery and words that suggest that the purpose, that that's the purpose of their product is gross and immoral. but it's just what can companies do now in order to profit from a market beyond their older male customer base. the second amendment does not absolve gun manufacturers of the responsibility to market to protect the responsibility. and children should not be doing fundraisers for stop to bleed kids instead of making sure that they can have on foreign prom, two car watches, baking, having big sales to make sure that their life on campus as students is improved as opposed to their life on campus doesn't end, and they have to use a stop doubly kit that they've raised money for. >> the. it's a gentleman's time has expired. >> thank you, i yield back. >> as previously was stated at the beginning of the hearing, mayor adams has a hard stop at 1:30. mayor adams, thank you so much for joining us here today and for your testimony and for your service. you are excused. thank you so much thank. >> you very much. >> mr. biggs is now recognized. mr. biggs. >> thank you, madam chair. you know, last week, i thought i heard it all when one of the democrats threatened to end the filibuster, wanted to pack the sum prime court, and said that they would confiscate guns. in order to do that, they would basically emasculate the senate as an institution. and also, he emasculate the supreme court as well. i thought that was interesting, was pretty bad, but then we hear of have here is someone actually accusing a witness, and actually taking out of context a witness who testified previously accusing her of perjury. for following that, i've got to tell, you the most egregious thing that the democrats did today is they took a person, a young person, little mia, who was traumatized two weeks ago, still suffering under obvious ptsd, as she testified in that video, and bringing that poor little girl to relive the. and if we're going to hear about how traumatic and -- i don't say they're not dramatic, these raising the money for stop doubly kits is -- then it's particularly pernicious and outrageous to take an 11-year-old child who graphically described how she spread classmates blood upon her and fame her own death to make or relive that you are talking about ptsd, you just prolong the agony of that little child. for what? for your own political gain, your own political purpose. that is despicable. over the course of more than nine hours last week, my colleagues on the judiciary committee, my democratic colleagues, made it clear that they don't believe any american should have access to the means to protect themselves and their families. democrats have posed a republican amendment that would allow victims of domestic violence to purchase firearms. they opposed a republican amendment that would allow the spouses of active duty and military to purchase firearms. again, they promoted ending the filibuster, packing the supreme court and confiscated guns from law-abiding citizens. and they gave their entire game away by make it clear that neither congress nor the supreme court will stand in the way of the radical mission. their proposal lucia's to the problem of violent crime in this country is to make felons out of law-abiding citizens under the age of 21. to make felons out of law-abiding citizens who own firearms and homes with children, and make felons of law-abiding citizens who own or purchase magazines that hold more than ten rounds of ammunition. the most common firearm in this country sells 15 round magazines. the proposed solution is to force law officers to ignore due process and strip law-abiding citizens of the means to protect themselves and their families from threats. make no mistakes, my democratic colleagues intent on total infringement on america second rights. miss swearer, for you ask the most pertinent question, i think we're going to hear from you in just a second. i want you to tell me, can you define defensive use? >> defensive use, and it's a mean you mean lawful defensive use. it would be a use of a firearm that is to defend oneself lawfully against criminal actions by another. >> how often is lawful defensive use of firearms he's in this country? >> according to a 2015 report by the cdc, almost all, with very few exceptions. but the most rigorous studies, almost all of them, show that is somewhere between 500,000 and 3 million times a year. it's rough really probably around 1 million, myself. >> to please the firearm used for self-defense, defensive others or defensive property saves lives? >> yes, it objectively saves lives. >> now, you were accused by someone who took out of context that you testified on 2019, of effectively committing a crime and committing perjury before congress. would you please like to respond to that? >> congressman, respectfully, i appreciate the opportunity but we have wasted enough time on political games today and i would like to get back to the merits of talking about solutions. >> very good. now, i'm going to go forward now and, madam chair, i'm going to submit the following items for the record. the testimony of stephen will furred before the senate judiciary committee on may 25, 2021. mr. wolf or it is a good guy with a gun who heroically confronted and stop a mass shooter in southern springs, texas. i also submitted 2019 study by john lot of the crime that research center, study examples date on the rate of shootings and accidents schools that allowed teachers to carry firearms. we found zero cases of someone being wounded or killed by a shooting, let alone a public mask waiting at a school that allows teachers to carry firearms. thirdly, and article by the washington examiner that the buffalo shooter was an eco socialist racist who hated fox news and binge pirro. with that i yield back. >> without objection, the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from georgia, mr. johnson, is now recognized. and we have been called for votes so, after him, we will recess. >> thank you, madam chair, for holding this hearing. i would like to thank the witnesses, particularly those on the first panel, for their testimony. i was very moved by what each of them had to say. americans have grown weary, frustrated and frightened by the ever intensifying cascade of gun violence afflicted in our country. and they are sick and tired of their elected leaders continuing to do nothing to address the carnage. the fact of the matter is that the gun lobby, led by the nra and the gun manufacturers that fund it, exert great influence on politicians to support its policies. which is that the only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. you know, i mean, if that holds true then, you know, it just doesn't make sense in a civilized society. i submit to you that every person with a gun makes us unsafe, as opposed to more secure. every stopping a bad guy with a gun with a good guy with a gun case has not worked. to allow the floodgates to remain open for gun dealers, to flood our streets with weapons that are more powerful than what was available last week, that policy, madam chair, has been a deadly failure. and if we continue the unbridled flow of firearms flooding our nations streets, we will continue to see rising rates of gun violence in america. no other country has a problem like the gun violence problem plaguing our country. and policy makers who stand in the way of doing something to address the problem should be ashamed of themselves, and they need to be voted out of office and replaced with leaders who are willing to stand up to the nra and passed sense gun reform laws. it is common sense to impose a ban on the manufacture and sale to the public of military assault weapons meant for use on the battlefield. it's common sense to mandate universal background checks by closing the gun show loophole. it's common sense to raise the age of purchasing all firearms from 18 to 21. but, for some reason, my colleagues insist on doing nothing to reverse wet is a tide of a failed policy. it allows greedy firearms manufacturers to maintain their ever growing profits, by flooding our streets with weapons of war. they continue to ignore the impact of their inaction, hiding behind the second amendment as if it were the bible. they proclaim any attempt to pass gun safety legislation infringes on their right to carry. well, what about the right to live? of the 19 children and two teachers killed in uvalde? the ten shoppers killed in buffalo, new york? whatever their right to live? what about the right to live a countless others who have died from street gun violence? how much more blood should be shed before we, in congress, take action? madam chair, the house has acted to pass laws on universal background checks but our legislation has stalled in the senate because of the filibuster. and congress, today, we'll pass common sense gun legislation. i should say, democrats and congress will pass comments of gun law today and pass it on to the senate, where it will be met with the filibuster. overwhelming majority of americans support that common sense and safety reforms under consideration this week. and failure to act is unconscionable, failure is a failure to the counties that children are shattered communities. failure is an insult to the people we are here to represent, and i joined my colleagues in their fervent thoughts and prayers and beg my colleagues to match their thoughts and prayers with equally fervent action. mr. gramaglia, a paper released by the international association of chiefs of police noted that, when the by putin assault weapons ban was in place between 1994 in 2004, the number of assault weapons traced to crimes fell by a dramatic 66%. so this all weapons are often used against police officers and ebi acp is supportive of the assault weapons banned, or the assault rifle ban, what message does and when republicans, who loudly proclaim their support for law enforcement, refused to even discuss banning assault weapons? >> you know, my issue here is that we need to reduce the amount of bloodshed on our streets. the damage that these weapons cause will lead to more bloodshed on the streets. it's more victims that are being struck and it's something that needs to be banned. >> thank, you and i yield back. >> the gentleman's time is expired. the gentleman from florida, mr. donalds, is recognized for five minutes. >> thank you, madam chair. madam chair, so thank you for the indulgence before if you go vote. we heard a lot today, i don't want to do too much speech -ifying because we do that too often here. miss swearer, it's been referenced a lot today, actually, about the need for background checks and closing the quote unquote gun show loophole. can you explain to detail what that policy actually means? >> sure, so, universal background checks start with this universal conception of what could be, at its core, legitimate. right now -- sorry, most gun sales, whether it's break and mortar gun stores, bought over the internet, anything that occurs interstate, those require a background check under law. the only exception is between trust sales among private sellers, that is largely because they don't have access access to that system. you're not like f f l's call the fbi and say, can you get a background check? now, could that theoretically be a way that interstate sale for individuals who are otherwise prohibited to obtain firearms, sure. as i point out, the problem with h.r.8 and all those other bills is that this is a low reward endeavor, this is already not how most criminals are obtaining firearms. they're already obtaining them through the black, market through informal channels that are not in any way, shape or form address by interstate private sales. on top of, that things like h.r.8 would criminalize a whole host of responsible, temporary, low risk transfers between law-abiding citizens. like, if your body wants to borrow your hunting rifle or you're going on a monthlong trip to europe and you want your guns to be secured and your friends safe next door, you have to go through a background check, legally transfer possession of her guns to that individual, and then legally transferred the title backed yourself when you're done. that's the problem. >> so, miss swearer, real quick. the policy of universal background checks, would that have stopped the shooter in uvalde from acquiring his weapon? >> it would not have stopped the shooter in uvalde. >> would it have stopped the shooter department from acquiring his weapon? >> it would not have stopped, with accent one lone exception, any mass shooter in the last 20 years. they all passed or were capable of passing backer, tracks and that's the problem. >> the shooter in sandy hook, the newtown shooting, did that shooter kill his mother and take the guns? >> yes he did. i forget his age but he otherwise did not have a disqualifying history. >> the shooter and uvalde, did he actually shoot his grandmother in the face before he went to commit the crimes involved a? >> to my knowledge, yes. >> here's the deal, one of things facing throughout these mass shootings, i was part of the state legislature during the parkland shooting, i was on the legislature during that time period. one thing it's crystal clear, that these mass shooters that target our schools are all psychopaths. they are psychotic. and in parkland, the red flags were there for everybody to see, the school district did not act. that came out the parkland report. the site itself was not secure, that came out the parkland report. and uvalde, the back door was open. it was open, wide open. the perpetrator shot his grandmother in the face. that is insane. i know in this bill, the proposed bill, today or tomorrow, or talk about raging the age to buy rifles from 18 to 21. i we now going to say that a 19 year old who is a legal adult in the united states does not have the mental capacity to own a shotgun or an ar-15? but they have a mental capacity to enlist in the military? they have the mental capacity to actually sign legal contracts? they have the mental capacity to be treated as an adult, by law enforcement, and they will have the mental capacity to vote in the united states? but they don't have that mental capacity to own a shotgun or to a rifle, and inflict home on their helen? looked, like mom, i've got three sons. two of them isolation now. with these shootings occur, man, they hurt me. because i could only imagine what it is as a parent. i'm a parent. but i also understand that i have a responsibility as a legislature to actually defend the constitution of the united states. the constitution, the second amendment is there. it is our responsibility to defend it. and if we look at the data from the best shootings that have occurred in the united states of the last 20 years, the one constant, especially when it comes to schools, is that these shooters are young, they are mentally disturbed, and divestment your day of people who are in their age group would not even think it will go down the pathway of committing these atrocities. we don't pass laws because of the quote, unquote, to stop a cycle past. we already passed laws in order to maintain the actual legal momentum of freedom in the united states. the second amendment is not there to stop psychopath. let's be perfectly honest with it, it is not. it is not its purpose. the purpose of the second moment is clear. just to protect the constitutional rights of american citizens. these shootings are awful. they are awful. but the data is clear about how, how to find the people that actually do this. and the measures put in front of us would not have actually stopped the shootings. i yield back. >> the gentleman's time is expired. votes have been called to allow members to vote, the committee will stand in recess until the end of the first vote series. committee stands in recess. members of the house are taking a break from that testimony takes on hearing victims of the mass shootings in where texas and uvalde are. and that even your old we they did ears portion of today's washington journal. november. the issues remain huge. according to their the right this. the issues remain huge. according to their abc ipsos poll find inflation either extremely or very important to 80% of voters. and gas prices privatized at similar by 74%. mr. biden's approval and handling of this stands below 30% in that polling. the story adds that after irrational terrific student shootings only 32% of those and poll say gun violence would be very externally important in their votes for congress. and with the supreme court expected to overturn roe v. wade in coming weeks the, initial issue of abortion is extremely pointed to 63% of what is. it also adds that when there is voters rest to name that single most important issue this fall, it was inflation, chosen by 21% of respondents. the economy more broadly at 19%, gun violence at 17%. abortion at 12%. when it comes to those issues of importance. the washington post takes a look at the same type of topics as far as specific issues motivating people to vote this nove

Related Keywords

Taiwan , Honduras , Louisiana , United States , Australia , El Paso , Texas , California , Jamaica , Whitehouse , District Of Columbia , San Bernardino , Ukraine , West Virginia , San Francisco , Mexico , Arizona , India , Sandy Hook , Florida , South Carolina , University Hospital , Italy , Georgia , , Chicago , Illinois , Greece , Lilo , Georgia General , Baltimore , Maryland , Norway , New York , Japan , North Carolina , Democratic Republic Of The Congo , Memorial Hospital , Iran , Washington , Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , Kentucky , El Salvador , Sandyhook , Indiana , Virginia , Wisconsin , San Antonio , Togo , Canada , Michigan , Germany , Iraq , Israel , Colorado , Sweden , Boulder , Ohio , France , Venezuela , Americans , Mexicans , Australian , America , Mexican , Zaire , Greek , Texan , American , Texans , Taiwanese , Roe V Wade , Marcus Morrison , Tim Kennedy , Lexi Rubio , John Chang , Pamela Thomas , Kimberly Rubio , Las Vegas , Roy Guerrero , Eric Adams , Lucretia Hughes , Quran Brown , Marjory Stoneman Douglas , Greg Jackson , Jim Jordan , Elijah Cummings , Josh Billy ,