for gunsense in America. But today, I'm
not here just as an advocate. I'm here
as a mom. I have three daughters. One of
them has already lived through shootings
at both the mall and the state fair.
And I'm a Catholic. I forgot to mention
that part. Um, now here in our own city,
families are living through the
nightmare of a shooting on the very
first day of school.
Annunciation Catholic School should have
been a sanctuary,
a place where kids laugh with their
friends. Teachers prepared lessons.
Parents feel safe dropping their
children off in the morning. Instead,
gunfire tore through those doors.
Children were gunned down in church
praying in their place of worship.
Another school year begins and once
again it is marked by gun violence.
And this is not an isolated incident.
Less than 24 hours before this tragedy,
there was another shooting here in
Minneapolis. And in that case, an AR-15
style assault weapon was used. These are
weapons of war and they are tearing
through our communities over and over
again.
We cannot call ourselves a free country
when parents cannot send their kids to
school without wondering if they will
come home alive.
And even for the children who survive,
the trauma will live with them forever.
All signs point to yesterday's shooting
also being carried out with an assault
weapon. These guns were designed for
battlefields,
not for our schools, not for our
churches,
and not for our neighborhoods. No
civilian needs a gun that can fire
dozens of rounds in seconds.
These weapons exist for one purpose, to
kill and wound as many people as
possible, as quickly as possible.
We've seen what happens time and again
when assault weapons are used.
And we also know what happens when
they're banned. Lives are saved. When
the federal assault weapons ban was in
place, mass shootings went down. After
it expired, they increased. We cannot
afford more delay.
Here in Minneapolis, this tragedy comes
after three other deadly shootings in
just 24 hours. Our city is in pain. Our
state is in pain. And yet still,
lawmakers at the state and federal
levels refuse to do the one thing that
could stop this. Ban assault weapons and
highcapacity magazines.
Sending kids to school should not mean
sending them into a war zone. Enough is
enough. Our children deserve better. Our
teachers deserve better. Our communities
deserve better. So today, on behalf of
the families reeling from this shooting,
and on behalf of every parent who lies
awake at night wondering if their child
is safe, we are demanding action.
Minnesota must lead and Congress must
follow. Ban assault weapons and
highcapacity magazines. Get these
weapons of war off our streets and out
of our communities. Our kids cannot wait
any longer.
[Applause]