Statement AI Analysis

Statement AI Summary:

A congressional floor speech by Rep. Hakeem Jeffries commemorating the 15th anniversary of the Tucson mass shooting, honoring survivors and victims (including Gabby Giffords), condemning ongoing gun violence, and urging policy actions such as closing background check loopholes, banning assault weapons, funding ATF and community violence intervention programs, and supporting a commemorative resolution.

Statement AI Bias Category on Gun Control:

Left-Leaning

Bias of All Statements by Hakeem Jeffries on Gun Control:

Statement AI Categories:

Criminal Justice and Law Enforcement, Gun Control, Public Safety and Emergency Services

Date:

01-08-2026

Pages In PDF Link That Have Statement:

H149

Actual Statement Made In Congress:

If the member made multiple statements on that day, they were analyzed and accumulated together.

Mr. JEFFRIES. Madam Speaker, Madam Speaker Emerita, Senator Mark Kelly, the Arizona delegation, and to all of my colleagues who are present here today, I rise on the 15th anniversary of the tragic mass shooting in Tucson, Arizona, that took 6 lives and injured 13 others, including our former colleague, our good friend, Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, an extraordinary American leader who I am pleased to say is here with us in the Chamber today. At 10:10 a.m. mountain standard time, in Tucson, Arizona, during a Congress on Your Corner event being held by Representative Gabby Giffords to serve her constituents, a gunman opened fire on this peaceful gathering. We mourn for those whose lives were lost on that fateful day: John Roll, a Federal judge and public servant; Gabe Zimmerman, a dedicated congressional staffer; a precious 9-year-old girl named Christina- Taylor Green; and beloved community members Dorothy ``Dot'' Morris, Phyllis Schneck, and Dorwan Stoddard. At the same time, we are thankful to God for the survival, the resilience, the courage, the strength, the persistence of Congresswoman Giffords and all those who survived on that fateful day. Prior to this assassination attempt, Congresswoman Giffords served this body and the people of Arizona's Eighth District with great distinction, dedication, and determination. Her policy interests were diverse, spanning from immigration reform, economic opportunity, and promoting solar and clean energy. After experiencing firsthand, in the most horrific fashion possible, the horror of a mass shooting, she refocused her efforts on ending the gun violence epidemic in America once and for all. We honor her and celebrate her for the transformational work that she has done in the years that have followed. House Democrats stand with Gabby and with all Americans who say enough is enough. Enough with the gun violence epidemic being the leading cause of death for the children in this country. Enough with mass shootings being as frequent as the common cold. Enough with the text messages to parents saying ``I love you'' because there is another active school shooter. Enough with the mass-casualty incidents at concerts, grocery stores, movie theatres, nightclubs, churches, mosques, synagogues, and other gathering places. Enough with weapons of war flooding our communities, while merchants of death rake in record profits. Enough unnecessary loss of life due to preventable, senseless gun violence. This is the cause to which Congresswoman Giffords has now dedicated her life, and we all join her in proclaiming enough is enough. It is time to end the gun violence epidemic in America once and for all. While the challenges to address this crisis may feel insurmountable at times, we cannot and will not give up hope, inspired by the perseverance of our dear leader, Congresswoman Giffords. I am heartened by the work that has been done despite the considerable forces that have been arrayed against us. That progress includes, under the leadership of then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi, passage of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act in 2022, which represented the strongest new Federal gun safety legislation in 30 years. Our job, of course, as Gabby makes clear, is far from finished. Every day an average of 327 people are shot in this country, including 23 children shot on average every day. Over 65 million Americans say at least one person in their family has been fatally shot, their lives extinguished by gun violence in this country. There are 393 million guns in the United States of America, more guns than people, and law enforcement can't tell you where a majority of those guns are because of barriers that have been erected keeping criminals protected. It does not have to be this way. We know there are commonsense solutions to stop the gun violence and keep the American people safe. We can start by closing the gun background loophole that allows dangerous people to buy firearms without background checks. We need to ban assault weapons in the United States of America to prevent these weapons of war from continuing to destroy the lives of everyday Americans. Led by our distinguished appropriators like Rosa DeLauro, we are continuing to fight for robust funding for community violence intervention programs and appropriate funding for the ATF and gun violence research. Breaking the devastating cycle of gun violence that has a choke hold on this country is one of our Caucus' highest priorities and will be a high-priority issue when we take back control of the majority after the November election. Democrats are continuing to maintain our commitment to keep everyday Americans safe from the scourge of gun violence, and we will not stop fighting for proven policies that we know will reduce gun violence in every community throughout our Nation. I encourage my colleagues to support the resolution introduced by Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz to commemorate the tragic event that occurred on January 8, 2011. I once again thank our colleague, our fearless leader, our distinguished champion, Congresswoman Giffords, for her presence here today on this solemn anniversary and for her tireless, matchless, incredible advocacy to end the scourge of gun violence in the United States of America once and for all. I now ask everyone in the Chamber to stand, and for everyone throughout the campus to join us in a moment of silence to commemorate the lives lost and the lives forever changed by the tragic shooting that occurred on January 8, 2011.

Source:

Library of Congress

AI summary and categorization done by an OpenAI GPT model. For more information see: Editorial and Method