This past week, the U.S. broke the record for the most mass shootings in a single year – LINK
Senator Reverend Warnock has been focused on gun violence prevention since coming to the Senate
In May, Senator Reverend Warnock convened gun violence advocates and survivors at the U.S. Capitol to uplift their stories and push Congress to start a serious conversation about addressing the gun violence crisis
As honorary co-chair of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s 52nd Annual Legislative Conference, the Senator hosted a community conversation examining the impact of gun violence in the Black community
Senator Reverend Warnock: “Every day, I hear from Georgians who are sick and tired of losing people they love to gun violence. As a pastor, I presided over the funerals. And it begs me to ask how is it that we can’t keep our own people alive? What kind of nation tells its children that the only thing we can do in the wake of this crisis is to teach you how to hide?”
Watch the Senator’s floor remarks HERE
Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA) delivered remarks on the U.S. Senate floor shortly before Senate Democrats attempt to pass common-sense gun violence prevention legislation by unanimous consent, following deadly mass shootings over the past week that set a new annual record for mass shootings in the United States. The Senator’s remarks called for bipartisan action to address the country’s gun violence epidemic, however, attempts to pass common-sense gun safety measures were blocked by Washington Republicans in the Senate.
“Across the country outside of Washington, there is widespread agreement that Congress needs to enact common-sense, common-sense, gun safety solutions. 87% of Americans believe that we ought to have universal background checks. Every day, I hear from Georgians who are sick and tired of losing people they love to gun violence. As a pastor, I presided over the funerals. And it begs me to ask how is it that we can’t keep our own people alive? What kind of nation tells its children that the only thing we can do in the wake of this crisis is to teach you how to hide?” said Senator Warnock during his floor remarks.
Senator Warnock has been focused on gun violence prevention since coming to the Senate. Following a mass shooting that killed one and injured four at Northside Hospital Medical Midtown in Atlanta in May, Senator Warnock delivered an impassioned speech on the Senate floor calling on Congress to take immediate action to curb gun violence. Also in May, Senator Warnock convened gun violence advocates and survivors at the U.S. Capitol to uplift their stories and push Congress to start a serious conversation about addressing the gun violence crisis. In September, Senator Warnock honored the 171 lives taken by gun violence in schools since the 1999 Columbine shooting at a memorial event organized by families of the 2022 Uvalde, TX tragedy. The remarks followed Senator Warnock’s latest effort to curb gun violence when he joined Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and 74 lawmakers to urge the Biden Administration to take aggressive action to combat gun violence and limit the sale of assault weapons. Also in September, the Senator, honorary co-chair of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s 52nd Annual Legislative Conference, hosted a community conversation in collaboration with Community Justice Action Fund (Community Justice) examining the impact of gun violence in the Black community and unpacking how Americans can come together to end this violence in their communities and communities across the country. The Senator also championed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, passed and signed into law in 2022, but believes Congress has more work to do.
Highlights of Senator Reverend Warnock’s floor speech can be found here:
“Our precious children are afraid to go to school. They’re worried that their classroom may be the next Robb Elementary, Marjory Stoneman Douglas, or Sandy Hook, as we remember that somber anniversary. I heard one of my colleagues, Senator from Wyoming, earlier today say that they’re trying to take our freedoms away. We’ve heard that a lot from folks on the other side, they’re trying to take our freedoms away. It’s a strange freedom that regularly sends our children into lockdown. What kind of freedom is that?”
“We act as if this is normal, business as usual. What legislative action has the Senate passed to address this epidemic of gun violence? The Senate actually voted to give less information, less information, to the National Criminal Background Check System. Now keep in mind that according to a 2023 Fox News poll, 87% of Americans believe that we ought to have universal background checks. Listen, let me say that again: according to a Fox News poll 87% of Americans believe that we ought to have universal background checks. And so they present this as if it is an argument between Democrats and Republicans. Really it is an argument between Washington and craven politicians, and ordinary people every day who are just trying to live their lives in safety.”
“There is a broadening gap between what Americans want and what they can get from their government. So, at the root, this is a democracy problem. The question is who owns our democracy and at what cost to our children and to our families?”
“And so, we have a moral obligation not to turn away. Across the country outside of Washington, there is widespread agreement that Congress needs to enact common-sense, common-sense, gun safety solutions. 87% of Americans believe that we ought to have universal background checks. Every day, I hear from Georgians who are sick and tired of losing people they love to gun violence. As a pastor, I presided over the funerals. And it begs me to ask how is it that we can’t keep our own people alive? What kind of nation tells its children that the only thing we can do in the wake of this crisis is to teach you how to hide?”
“The time is always right to do what is right,” Dr. King taught us and that time is now.”
View the full transcript of Senator Reverend Warnock’s floor speech here:
“Mr. President, I rise today because we are living in a nation besieged by gun violence. So far this year, our nation has experienced this year 630 mass shootings. Now, this is day number 340 in the year 2023, so 340 days, 630 mass shootings. That’s nearly twice as many mass shootings, as we’ve seen days.
Our precious children are afraid to go to school. They’re worried that their classroom may be the next Robb Elementary, Marjory Stoneman Douglas, or Sandy Hook, as we remember that somber anniversary. I heard one of my colleagues, Senator from Wyoming, earlier today say that they’re trying to take our freedoms away. We’ve heard that a lot from folks on the other side, they’re trying to take our freedoms away. It’s a strange freedom that regularly sends our children into lockdown. What kind of freedom is that?
According to the gun violence archive, we’ve lost over 1500 children to gun violence this year. And I think that there’s a kind of unspoken assumption as we’ve been pushing for common-sense gun safety, and have gotten very little movement in Congress. I think the unspoken assumption is that this will not visit me, it will not happen to my family. When you consider that there have been 630 mass shootings already this year, sadly, the chances are quite good that this could visit any one of us.
And we ought to do our work here in the Congress, as if we are protecting our own families, because when we look out for other people’s families, when we look out for other people’s children, we look out for our own and it could visit any one of us.
We act as if this is normal, business as usual. What legislative action has the Senate passed to address this epidemic of gun violence? The Senate actually voted to give less information, less information, to the National Criminal Background Check System. Now keep in mind that according to a 2023 Fox News poll, 87% of Americans believe that we ought to have universal background checks. Listen, let me say that again: according to a Fox News poll 87% of Americans believe that we ought to have universal background checks. And so they present this as if it is an argument between Democrats and Republicans. Really it is an argument between Washington and craven politicians, and ordinary people every day who are just trying to live their lives in safety.
There is a broadening gap between what Americans want and what they can get from their government. So, at root, this is a democracy problem. The question is who owns our democracy and at what cost to our children and to our families?
And so, we have a moral obligation not to turn away. Across the country outside of Washington, there is widespread agreement that Congress needs to enact common-sense, common-sense, gun safety solutions. 87% of Americans believe that we ought to have universal background checks. Every day, I hear from Georgians who are sick and tired of losing people they love to gun violence. As a pastor, I presided over the funerals. And it begs me to ask how is it that we can’t keep our own people alive? What kind of nation tells its children that the only thing we can do in the wake of this crisis is to teach you how to hide?
Last year for the first time in 30 years, we were able to pass modest but meaningful gun safety legislation. But it was not nearly enough. And it took 30 years just to do that.
And so we’re all set to go home later this month to spend a few weeks, safely I hope, with our loved ones. And I encourage all of my colleagues to reflect on this question, are we going to let other people’s loved ones continue to die by the 10s of 1000s and let our babies get killed in their classroom for another 30 years before we choose to act?
“The time is always right to do what is right,” Dr. King taught us and that time is now.”
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