Executive Session

Floor Speech

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Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, before I begin, I would like to take just a moment to remember the thousands of innocent lives lost 18 years ago today and to thank the first responders who so bravely sacrificed their lives in the service of others.

September 11 is a day that will always weigh heavily upon our Nation, but it is also a day that shows the strength and resiliency of the American people. In response to tragedy, we saw beyond our differences and came together as a country. That is the lesson we must never forget.

Today, I come to the floor as a voice for families in my home State of Washington who have had enough of just ``thoughts and prayers'' and as a mother and a grandmother who has had enough of them too. My heart breaks with every report of another horrific mass shooting.

Like my colleagues here today and the rest of our country, I watched in horror last month as devastating gun violence claimed dozens of innocent lives and threw our communities into a state of panic yet again. This heartbreak has become all too familiar to so many of us-- from El Paso and Odessa, to Dayton, to Maryville in my home State of Washington, and in schools and movie theaters and community spaces across our country. So what we are doing here today is refusing to accept this as normal and demanding the change that so many families are crying out for.

Democrats are committed to heeding the voices of countless people back in Washington State and across our country who are desperate for leaders in this Washington--including President Trump and Leader McConnell--to address this crisis. That is why I am joining my colleagues on the Senate floor throughout today to call on Leader McConnell to take up commonsense gun safety legislation, starting with universal background checks.

We know universal background checks save lives by closing dangerous loopholes to help keep guns out of the hands of people who should not have them. That is why more than 80 percent of Americans support universal background checks and are demanding immediate action from Congress to make universal background checks the law of the land.

There certainly are other steps we can take as well. We could strengthen the extreme risk protection orders, which have worked in my home State of Washington. We could revive the assault weapons ban, invest in gun violence prevention research, and regulate firearm magazine limits. All of those steps could save lives and prevent more families from enduring the horrific pain and trauma too many already have. But H.R. 8--the universal background check legislation that has already passed the House--is literally sitting here in the Senate, waiting to be called up for a vote.

As I close, I want to be clear. Passing universal background checks must be this body's first order of business if we are serious about protecting people and helping to keep guns out of the wrong hands. I and all of my Democratic colleagues and so many others are going to keep up the pressure as long as we have to, to get this done.

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