Then we will hear about the impact they are having on affordable housing. This meeting of the Senate Judiciary committee will come to order. I think all of those in attendance so many from illinois and Highland Park area. Im sorry that we have together in this room for this purpose but i salute you for your civic commitment and commitment to sanity when it comes to the laws of the country. I want to show some pictures. You will recognize them. This is Aiden Mccarthy, 2yearsold. The morning of the fourth of july 16 days ago he and his parents went out to celebrate Independence Day as a family. They stopped by their hometown parade in Highland Park. Shortly after 10 14 a. M. , he lost both of his parents. It happened when a 21yearold gunman with a military style ar 15 rifle began shooting. Aidens father used his body as a shield to protect him. Kevin and aidens mother were killed by gunfire. When the shooting stopped, he was found wandering along with his fatherss blood on his leg. I first heard about this when i called the mayor and she talked about the little boy they were still trying to identify. This other photo is cooper roberts, 8yearsold. He was at the parade that day with his twin brother, parents and a bullet severed his spinal cord. We pray that he will recover. But for the time being, hes battling paralysis from the waist down and has undergone at least several surgeries as a of injuries including one to reclose a bullet wound in his esophagus. Coopers twin brother had to be treated for shrapnel wounds to one ofas his legs. My heart is broken for these little boys and their families and all the families that are mourning their loved ones into struggling to recover from this unspeakable act. Ourth nation was still reeling from the Mass Shootings in buffalo new york and utility texas when the hoarder came to Highland Park on the fourth of july. Eightythree rounds fired in less than 60 seconds. The gunmen perched himself on a rooftop and used a smith wesson semi automatic Assault Rifle of the a 15 variety and three of the 30 route highcapacity magazines to commit this massacre. He killed seven people. Their names are catherine goldstein, kevin and irena mccarthy, jacqueline, stephen strauss, nicholas and eduardo. Dozens more were injured and many are still hospitalized. Thousands experiencedto trauma that will be with them forever. The attack in Highland Park was the 309th mass shooting in americaou this year. There had been 47 more Mass Shootings since the fourth of july. This is a crushing number when you consider its reflection on life in america and its disgraceful that we have done so little to stop it. Too often, the weapons that are used for the military style assault weapons designed to kill large numbers of people in a matterha of seconds, our colleae into senator from illinois will speak to that issue with their own special personal knowledge of it. Id like to turn to a short video, one of which was turned loose onit Highland Park. Fired at the crowd and struck people at random. Similar to this one here, twice. The rampage comes ten days after another shooting massacre and in buffalo new york. This time at a church in california on sunday. At least three Mass Shootings in the country, 212 this year. You have to be 18yearsold to purchase an assault style rifle like the ar 15. The style of weapon used in many Mass Shootings including sandy hook las vegas and youve already. Waffle house, ar 15, buffalo, ar 15, orlando, parkland, aurora colorado, synagogue, tree of life synagogue, sutherlands brings, ar 15. Thats how fast someone can shoot 30 rounds, one magazine from an ar 15. Those bullets have around 3,000 feet per second. I am an emergency room doctor and i can tell you firsthand the damage is almost indescribable. It creates gaping holes and liquefies organs. You cant hunt and eat the deer afterwards. That is what the doctors and First Responders are facing when they are dealing with these mass shooting victims. They are weapons of war. Why dond we allow our citizens o have such easy access to weapons of war . This is the tenth hearing the Senate Judiciary committee has held this congress on how to reduce gun violence in america. The tenth. Today we will discuss the threat our communities face when civilians as young as 18 years of age have easy access to military style assault weapons with no legal requirement for training. How did we get to this point . Why are these killing machines flying off the shelves after they were banned for a decade until 2004. Maybe its the ads that market the assault weapons. Symbols of independence, freedom or the promise that owning the gun will make you more of a man or could it be the enticing prospect of toting around the same style of weapon soldiers and marines choose to defend. These are the Marketing Tactics used by gun manufacturers like bushmaster, daniel defense. Its time to name and shame these companies. Its a disgrace that theyve been shielded from accountability, even liability for the devastation thats been caused by their products. I called them out on the senate floor last week and i will do it again. These weapons are killing our kids and their neighbors. In america this land of the free you can no longer go to the Grocery Store, movie theater, fourth of july parade or send your kids to School Without fear ofen falling victim to another senseless mass shooting. I want those that have lost so much to gun violence to know that i hear you, i see you, i stand with you in this fight for change that goes beyond thoughts and prayers. The governor made a comment after the shooting in Highland Park that reflected the feelings all of us had. Heartbroken for the victims and families but furious that at the fourth off july parade it can turn into a killing field in the United States of america. I want to salute some progress. In the last few weeks we passed the most significant federal gun safety ball in nearly three decades. Weve also confirmed in atf director for the first time in seven years. Weve got to do more if we are serious about reducing gun violence we need to keep weapons of war where they belong. On the battlefield, in the Police Departments not in our communities. Today we have a distinguished panel of witnesses ready to make that case and i look forward to their testimony. Let me turn to senator grassley before recognizingto my colleag. For all of us it was a tragic day to hear about the recent shootings at Highland Park july 4th just like buffalo, you volte and other places throughout the country. Acts of violence have no place in our country, particularly on a day that we should be celebrating our community and solidarity as people. Our hearts break for victims of the families. As a father and grandfather, i cant imagine what youre going through. Sadly, we witnessed another shooting in indianapolis over the weekend. Thankfully, a lawfully Armed Civilian with firearms stopped the shooter before more harm couldd be done they flashed an asidentification card, illegally purchased five guns and four different transactions passing federal background checks each time. Yet, like several other mass shooters, the perpetrator showed numerous warning signs over the years and in previous contacts with police he attempted suicide. Ar a Family Member reported and iothreatened to, quote on quote, kill everyone in his collections of knives were seized yet he wasnt arrested and no red flags were implemented when he purchased the firearm. Illinois has some of the most restrictive gun control laws in the country, but that didnt stop these murders. A young man was showing obvious signs that he is considering violence but no one knew what the signs were, no one knew what his actions meant. No one interceded, no one stopped him. It would be easy to say that the system just failed, that the police should have done more. The family should have done more, but therest actually is something that would have made a difference. We have to educate the institutions and a persons life about the obvious signs of distress, signs that a person is heading towards mass violence. Schools in many states have implemented the threat assessment models, but more institutions including churches, workplaces want and need training. We need to take affirmative steps to legislation for the threat assessment and prevention services. A study of hundreds of mass shooting incidents conducted by two professors show similarities repeated over and over that are not always recognized. I know every member of the Committee Heard me talk about this would provide funding to insupport secret service nationl threat Assessment Centers it would also enable the Threat Assessment Center to train more of the nations schools and institutions. If we want to reduce these Mass Shootings we cant afford not to do it. We cant keep seeing shooter after shooter follow the same predictable path and then nobody does anything about it. It could be because they didnt know what they were looking at or they didnt know what to do. We have to fill the information gap with public information. Right now the national Threat Assessment Center cant afford to train everyone who wants this information. That has to change. I am pleading for that to change. I am not alone in these thoughts. Hcosponsored by my fellow senators, representing both Political Parties i will also submit a statement from the United States secret Service Association supporting this legislation. I know many colleagues on the other side of the aisle dont like guns. Some are not particularly impressed by the please let worry onesizefitsall well and hed their right to selfdefense. Ive spoken with many that are worried about the restrictions. Bothci were concerned about restrictions being imposed on the right to selfdefense. For those who see no need for an armed citizenry, the solution to Mass Shootings could include a ban on assault weapons. This has already been tried in the 90s and the early 2,000s. I didnt support them and these would be an effective and not consistent with the right of selfdefense. After ten years of assault weaponste ban, there was no statistically significant evidence that banning assault weapons reduce gun murders. We also know that restrictive gun control will hurt vulnerable communities that needed to defend themselves against the horrible spike in crime that began two years ago. According to the foundation, the primary trade association for the gun industry, gun sales during the first half of 2020 increased yearoveryear 52 for whites, 59 for africanamericans. 49 for hispanic. It will affect this new population of gun owners and i hope my colleagues know that im going to want to talk about solutions to keep americans safe. But these have to be Solutions Based on evidence that respect the need for selfdefense. If there are bipartisan things we can do and i hope that the act will be one of them. And i hope that will be very soon. And i will yield back. Thank you, senator grassley. I want to acknowledge and im sure im going to miss someone in this incredible turnout on behalf of Highland Park, lake county and illinois, but i want to acknowledge the presence of the state presented if morgan and the sheriff, the states attorney from lake county, Daniel Shapiro that i read a little earlier, sandy hart, the board chair and catherine, i hope i get close to pronouncing your name correctly. We will have to Opening Statements and then another from senator cornyn and i i will recognize senator duckworth. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member grassley, thank you for holding todays important hearing they found the 2yearold aidan Aiden Mccarthy lying bloodied and pinned and after the deadly shooting in Highland Parks fourth of july parade. Just a toddler, he somehow lost one shoe and was down to one bloodsoaked sock as he kept asking for his mom and dad. Tragically we learned among those murdered what has become a uniquely american phenomenon. Mass murderers to inflict death upon innocent americans. My constituents and yours as well were eager to celebrate americaa at her best. Instead, they joined a rapidly growing number of victims have experienced our nation at her worst. I still cant get the image of the blood he saw out of my mind. Im unable to stop thinking about what his future holds now or with the thoughts might have been when they shielded their son from bullets raining down with their own bodies and that is why im here this morning. I refuse to let my colleagues know how a weapon of war for every change this little boys life and the lives of so many others and as a mom raising two little girls attending school, i refuse to do nothing in the face of a deadly epidemic of gunny violence that is the leading cause of death among americans. Let me say that now. Of the leading cause of death under the age of 16 in this country isnt cancer or car accidents. Its gun violence. Only in america. Im urging the committee to demonstrate the courage and supporting the ban on assault weapons and largegu capacity magazines. Amer we cant stop every mass shooting. The Ranking Member spoke about identifying those with Mental Health issues andga i agree we should do all that. There are predictable steps and that is part of it, but part of those predictable steps also includes in the recent years the purchasing were the building of assault weapons. In 2004 the Ranking Member quoted the statistics there had been no significant change as of 2004. However, since the ban was allowed to expire, Mass Shootings in the country have tripled. The data shows that Mass Shootings in the nation has tripled since the assaultha weapons ban was allowed to expire. Now i want to be clear. Restoring the ban would not prevent from continuing toul access more than 2,000 models of powerful hunting rifles. We are not talking about the or30s, no one is going to grab this to go and conduct a mass shooting. They are grabbing ar 15s for the lower assemblies and building their own weapons of war. It wont stop a parent from teaching their child to shoot with a 2022 like my dad did when i was 7yearsold. I grew up shooting and enjoyed going to the range. It shouldnt outweigh the right toto life to live free from assault weapons. My focus that eugene designed to meet the requirements using combat when he designed the ar 15 it was then adopted by the military to become the ar 15 members adopted byde the army to become the m16 that i carried as my weapon of war for my 23 years as a soldier. Large capacity magazines also need to be banned. These are the items that are stealing the rate. The rifle 15 and the semiauto are weapons of war the rate of fire, ability to penetrate certain body armor and the ease of loading both the military issued and a civilian ar 15 are functionally similar and designed for combat. The lack of the mechanism doesnt meaningfully reduce the lithology compared. Where theres a soldier engaging the enemy in combat or an untrained mass murder hunting children in a school, any shooter looking to efficiently kill multiple people without wasting ammunition a will prefea semi auto rifle with a large capacity magazine that enables rapid reloading. Its as quickly as you can pull the trigger it is a new round. Every senator on the committee should study what happens to a body when struck at a speed of greater than 3,000 feet per second. As that emergency room doctor said, it liquefies your organs. You have no chance of survival. You should see emergency room doctors that can show you what happens and exploding tissues and destroying those organs. Its one thing to read in order. Have you reflected on why they had to submit to dna tests to identify the murdered children . Have you imagine how it would feel when authorities told you that you could not view the body of your murdered child, of your baby because there was nothing left that you could use to visuallyhe identify them and please could you submit some dna. I begeg you to question your assumptions about whether weaponry designed for war should be marketed and sold to civilians. What ima asking the committee o do is not easy, but our childrens lives are worth the fight. We sporting an oath to defend the constitution that was established to ensure the tranquility to promote the general welfare and secure the blessings of liberty for ourselves and for future generations. Selling the kid for the lower part manufacturers taking advantage and making a profit on dead babies. Nicholas, eduardo and irena and Kevin Mccarthy for the countless americans that were nowhere near Highland Park but will now think twice before bringing their child to a hometown july 4th tlparade or the millions of students like my baby girl who i recently witnessed taking part an active shooters drill. I was at her school to talk about memorial day with her sisters class. I looked through the window and saw the line of preschoolers walking down the hallway and i watched and my heart broke as i watched as my little girl was taught to crouch down with her head against a wall covering her head with her hands in their secure location, knowing full well that a shooter within ar 15 coming in their she wouldnt have a chance no matter what