Today, in honor of Gun Violence Awareness Month, LGBTQ Pride Month and the third anniversary of the Pulse Nightclub shooting, Rep. Dean Phillips (MN-03) paid tribute to victims on the House Floor.

Phillips called on the Senate to pass the historic, bipartisan gun violence prevention measures taken up by the House in February. The Bipartisan Background Checks Act, which Rep. Phillips co-sponsored, would require all gun sellers – including private vendors, online sellers, and sellers at gun shows – to conduct background checks on potential buyers. The measure is supported by overwhelming majorities of Americans and gun owners.

The House has passed 263 pieces of legislation this Congress. Only 20 have been taken up by Mitch McConnell’s Senate and become law.
 

Click here to view Rep. Phillips’s remarks
 

Below are Rep. Phillips’s remarks as prepared:

Madam Speaker – three years ago today, a mother woke up at 2 AM.

She woke up to a flurry of text messages from her son.

He was trapped in a nightclub bathroom at the mercy of a man with an MCX rifle and a death wish.

His first text: “Mommy, I love you.”

Then, at 2:39 AM: “He’s coming.”

“I’m gonna die.”

Eddie Justice was murdered in the Pulse Nightclub that morning.

He was 30 years old.

Today, we stand with Eddie’s family and loved ones, we stand with Orlando, we stand with the LGBTQ community, and we stand up to say:

Doing nothing to prevent mass shootings in our country is a dereliction of duty.

The Senate must pass the gun violence prevention measures the House put forward in February.

Thoughts and tweets do not save lives. Action saves lives. And in honor of all the Pulse Nightclub victims, we need action and we need it now.

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