Transcript of Pelosi Remarks at Opening of Gun Violence Memorial on National Mall

Washington, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi joined former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, Members of Congress and gun safety advocates to open the Gun Violence Memorial on the National Mall, honoring Americans lost to gun violence and calling for action in the face of this worsening public health crisis. Below are the Speaker's remarks:

Speaker Pelosi. Thank you, Sheila, very much for your very generous introduction. I accept that compliment on behalf of the House Democrats, who have all been champions – many of whom are here with me this morning. It's my honor to be with you this morning, but it's a sad, heartbreaking time. When we see these beautiful flowers, symbolizing beautiful lives lost to gun violence, and that the number has increased from last year. We must act.

I want to thank Giffords for your leadership. But all of the groups who have participated and are represented today. My colleagues hear me say all the time, that public – President Lincoln said, ‘Public sentiment is everything. With it, you can accomplish almost anything. Without it, practically nothing.' I say that to all the groups here because your outside mobilization is essential to our success in saving lives and passing gun violence protection legislation.

Behind me here, you see champions – every single one of them having made the case. Every single one of them making a difference. And they, or their inside maneuvering, can just take us so far. It's the outside mobilization. So give yourselves a hand for what you are doing on the out – on the outside.

[Applause]

I have a lot to tell you today. But we have a great number of speakers. So I will just focus on Gabby Giffords.

Gabby is – we all had the – many of us had the privilege of serving with her in Congress. And when we had the sad news of the assault on her life, it struck us in a way that we had never really felt before. To watch her come back with physical, speech and – and – all kinds of therapies – the strength she had to come back to make this fight, to make this fight.

Somebody asked me the other day, ‘Where does – what is – what are some of your brightest moments on the Floor of the House?' I said, ‘The brightest moment was the day Gabby Giffords came back to the Floor of the House.' And I never saw an ovation like that. She is someone who is respected across the country, an inspiration to so many. An inspiration that, again, making a difference, but, again, more needs to be done.

I just do want to point out one of my colleagues, Lucy McBath, who is a constant, every-day inspiration. She's turned her own personal grief into action to save lives and while we're – many of our Members are here – I want her legislation – Sheila mentioned the extreme risk protection order legislation, which will be passed. And I – hopefully will be passed in the Senate.

Again, she's a part of so much other legislation. And some of that is, again, what we intend to do. Raise the age to buy weapons of war, restrict access to ghost guns, outlaw high-capacity magazines, ban civilian bump stock sales, crack down on gun trafficking and advance safe gun storage. My colleagues here will speak to that, many of them have – are the authors of this legislation.

I want to just talk about Hailee, my constituent. We had a such an event, not this large, in San Francisco the other day. Hailee came and talked. She lost both of her parents to gun violence. Both of her parents to gun violence. She's in fifth grade, in fifth grade, and she is an agent for change. She is being raised by her grandmother, she and her brother are raised by their grandmother, thank God for the grandmother. But she – here she is, a little girl, speaking out against gun violence from personal experience but with great wisdom.

We owe the children of our country so much more than excuses to why we don't have legislation. To our representatives of the teachers, Becky Pringle and Randi Weingarten, who are here, we also want to salute our teachers for their courage in all of this. But it is – it is a message that I send to elected officials all the time. You can't vote for these bills because it's a problem for you politically? Understand this: your political survival is nothing compared to the survival of our children. We must protect them.

[Applause]

So now it is my privilege to yield the floor of the Mall –

[Laughter]

To a great leader, dear friend and former colleague of many of us, an inspiration to millions of Americans, an absolute force in the fight against gun violence. Our former colleague, Congresswoman Gabby Giffords.