February 27, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 36 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session

[Page H2241]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              GUN VIOLENCE

  (Ms. SHALALA asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Ms. SHALALA. Mr. Speaker, in June 2016, a gunman opened fire in the 
Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, killing 49 people, including Jerry 
Wright, a Miami Heat fan who loved to dance.
  Jerry Wright's parents, Fred and Maria, know that their son's death 
was preventable but, more than that, that it was not unusual.
  Nearly 40,000 people die because of guns every year, and that is why 
Fred and Maria lead the local Moms Demand Action group in my district. 
I am so proud to learn from them and work with them on commonsense gun 
safety in Miami-Dade and around the country.
  By mandating universal background checks for every gun sale, we can 
be a step closer to ensuring that, when our children go to school, to 
concerts, to movie theaters, to clubs, they do so safely, they do so 
without worrying that this dance might be their last.
  Fred and Maria Wright aren't asking for an overhaul of the Second 
Amendment; they are just asking for the adoption of commonsense 
solutions.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join us in preventing firearms 
from falling into the wrong hands by supporting H.R. 8.

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