WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.) issued the following statement on the series of Senate votes Monday on gun control, all of which failed to reach the 60-vote threshold for action by the United States Senate.
“The movie ‘Groundhog Day’ eventually ends when its main character finally takes a different path after taking a look at his life and the way he has mistreated others around him. Following the mass shooting in Orlando at the Pulse nightclub, Congress is locked in its own version of ‘Groundhog Day,’ with the Republican Leadership not yet ready to break the cycle of callous disregard for the victims of gun violence.
“After more than 15 hours of a filibuster that I participated in last week with many of my colleagues, the Republican Leadership in the Senate finally has allowed votes on gun control measures, like the commonsense idea that if someone is deemed a big enough threat that they cannot board an airplane that they should not be permitted to buy a gun, and the simple notion that background check should be done for every gun purchase regardless of location. It should not matter whether you buy a gun at your local gun store, at a gun show, or on the internet – you should have to pass a background check, so we can make sure that guns are kept out of the hands of people that should never have one. We need to finally enact real bipartisan reforms that will make the American public safer and reduce the risks that come from allowing such easy access to dangerous weapons primarily designed for the battlefield and not civilian ownership. More talk and more prayers will not save lives; only action and real changes in our federal laws can.
“I am hopeful that bipartisan negotiations in the Senate will move us closer to breaking the negative cycle that has trapped Congress and the American people in a loop of shock and condolences, and inaction. Congress should act to ban assault weapons that have no legitimate civilian use, and should ban the sale of high-capacity magazines, which only increase the level of carnage in our mass shootings. The time for action is now, and we cannot wait until the next mass shooting. Enough is enough.”
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