Rep. Robin Kelly, D-Illinois, delivered the Weekly Democratic Address. Kelly, who represents Homewood and Flossmoor in Congress, calls for commonsense gun reform and highlights the voices across the country that are ushering in a chorus of change.
Below is a full transcript of the address:
Antonio Brown and 49 others shot in Orlando, and still the gun show loophole remains.
Officer Charleston Hartfield and 57 others shot dead in Las Vegas, and still military-style assault weapons remain legal.
(We had) 650 people murdered in Chicago last year, and still no vote on federal anti-trafficking legislation.
Three-year old Jere’Miah Pitt and 164 others were shot in Speaker Ryan’s district over the last four years, and still no votes on comprehensive gun violence prevention legislation.
If only this Congress had the courage of Aaron Feis and others from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, the courage to take action and save lives.
What are Speaker Ryan and House Republicans waiting for? How many more lives will have to be taken?
How many more dreams need to be shattered? How many families torn apart? How many mothers need to bury their children? Why do NRA dollars matter more than American lives?
This weekend, that’s changing. A new generation has risen. Their voices, ushering in a chorus of change. They are offering action, not thoughts and prayers. They believe that children should go to school with thoughts of homework, baseball tryout, prom dates and pop — not guns and bullets.
These young people know that nothing stops a bullet like an opportunity — that we need to create opportunities for young people to pick up pencils and job skills, not guns.
As marchers descend on Washington this weekend fighting for common sense gun reforms, know that this is not a moment, it’s a movement.
A movement that will bring necessary reforms like a background check on every gun sale. A movement that will put an end to weapons of war on our streets.
Democrats stand united with you: enough is enough. Your safety, your life matters.
None of us should live in fear that we or someone we love could be next — at a movie theatre, at a car wash or even a Congressional baseball practice.
It’s time to put American families and your safety first. It’s time for common sense change that saves — we’ve already lost too many.
There are already too many empty seats at the dinner table. Too many unachieved dreams for us to stand silent.
This weekend, we stand with you. We speak out with you and we march with you in Washington, D.C., and Chicago; in Las Vegas and Miami; in Portland and San Diego and everywhere in between.
My name is Congresswoman Robin Kelly. It’s time to say #NeverAgain, and mean it.
