Transcript of Pelosi Floor Speech on the Assault Weapons Ban

Washington, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi delivered remarks on the Floor of the House of Representatives in support of H.R. 1808, the Assault Weapons Ban. Below are the Speaker's remarks:

Speaker Pelosi. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the Gentleman for yielding and for his great leadership. Mr. Speaker, each year, more children die from gun violence than any other cause. Cancer, auto accidents, any other cause. Our nation has watched in unspeakable horror as assault weapons have been used in massacre after massacre in communities across the country. And disturbingly, so many of these mass shootings have targeted our precious children. In their schools, at the movies, at the malls and throughout our communities. That is why I rise today in strong support in reinstating the assault weapons ban, a long-overdue step to get deadly weapons off our streets.

Make no mistake, we know that an assault weapon ban can work because it has worked before. For ten years, from 1994 to 2004, our families were protected by a strong assault weapon ban, strongly championed in the Senate by then-Senator, now President Joe Biden. Chuck Schumer led the way over here, Dianne Feinstein in the Senate. I was a relatively new Member of Congress who was whipping for this legislation. It made us all very, very proud. More importantly, it saved many lives.

During that time, we witnessed gun crime with assault weapons drop by up to 40 percent. Let me repeat. Gun violence with assault weapons reduced by 40 percent. Meanwhile, since the ban expired, the number of mass shooting deaths has grown by nearly 500 percent. And it is particularly sickening to now see these same deadly weapons – are you ready for this? – are now marketed to children.

Here is an advertisement for a JR-15, designed to be a so-called ‘smaller, safer, lighter version' of the horrific AR-15, which has been used to murder so many of their playmates and friends. Look at these little skulls with ponytails.

The manufacturer stated their goal was to develop a shooting platform that was not only sized correctly, but also ‘looks, feels and operates just like mom and dad's gun.' ‘Mom and dad's gun,' they use that expression. Indeed, gun maker WEE1 Tactical launched the JR-15 and said, quote, ‘We are excited to start capturing the imagination of the next generation.' Indeed, this callousness is disgusting. It's despicable, and it reminds us that the crisis of gun violence requires action.

To the families who are survivors and have suffered from gun violence, we have said over and over again, we will not stop until the job is done. We thank them for turning their sorrow, their sorrow, to help others – prevent others from suffering in that way. They've turned their agony into action. Now, whether we were saying we are going from Newtown to Uvalde, everything in between, and since – there's so many deaths, so much sorrow, so much hope that we would get the job done. They are so responsible for our bringing this legislation to the Floor. Their outside mobilization, their advocacy with great, great, great intellectual integrity has made all the difference.

Today, House Democrats will vote to reinstate the Assault Weapons Ban with strong protections for children and families. The bill prohibits the sale, manufacture, transfer or possession of semi-automatic assault weapons, as well as high-capacity magazines. And, contrary to what the gentleman on the other side of the aisle said, it requires safe storage for lawfully owned assault weapons already in our communities. It's not about taking guns away from people who should have them. It's about safe storage. You have a problem with that? And it strongly supports our law enforcement who are heroes, who should not have to confront weapons designed for the battlefield, instead in our communities.

To be clear, this is a very special day in the Congress of the United States, that history will record as one designed to save lives. For his passionate, persistent leadership on this legislation, let me salute Congressman David Cicilline – I don't know if he's on the Floor – who has been fighting ferociously on this issue for years and years. To Lucy McBath, who has been, again, a member of the committee of jurisdiction and intellectual resource, a strategic thinker and inspiration to all of us, who turned her personal grief into action – and makes a difference. And thank you, Chairman Jerry Nadler, Chair of the Judiciary Committee, for steering this legislation through the Judiciary Committee and to the Floor.

And also, I want to recognize, once again, President Joe Biden's long-time leadership on this issue and the beautiful words he expressed about this when we were celebrating the bipartisan safety bill recently.

Mr. Speaker, all those who have had the privilege of serving in this hallowed halls take a solemn oath to the American people. At the heart of our oath is our duty to protect and defend. To protect and defend the Constitution, the American people. With this legislation, we honor this foremost responsibility. And when the House returns in August, we will bring to the Floor a robust public safety package beyond this.

Let me be clear: House Democrats are for People Over Politics. And say to our friends in this body, and down the hall, and wherever they are, your political survival is insignificant compared to the survival of children who are at the mercy of these guns. We believe that every American deserves to live in a safe community, where they and their families can thrive. That's why Democrats are funding our police, while making reforms for better law enforcement training and accountability, as we give them the tools – the police – the tools they need to prevent crime.

We are so proud of the work done by CBC Chair Joyce Beatty, working with Representatives Josh Gottheimer, and Abigail Spanberger to make historic – to write historic legislation that has prioritizing meeting the needs of our law enforcement officers, while at the same time having accountability. Having accountability. That is historic. We haven't passed that before.

And I'm more confident than ever that we will pass a package rooted in two of the Democrats' most cherished values: justice and safety.

I urge my colleagues to support the assault weapons ban, recognizing, again, that the survival of our children is more important than the political survival of any of us. And with that, I urge a strong, and hopefully bipartisan, vote to put People Over Politics by reinstating the assault weapon ban. And I yield back the balance of my time.