Democrat gaveled out as he tries to read names of children killed by guns this year
Rep. Sean Casten (D-Ill.) took to the House floor on Thursday to read the names of young children killed by guns this year, but was forced to conclude his remarks due to time constraints after getting through only a fraction of the 600 names.
Casten’s comments came minutes after the House passed a bill to nationalize red flag laws, which aim to keep guns out of the hands of individuals deemed a risk to themselves and others. The legislation was brought up in the wake of last month’s mass shootings in Buffalo, N.Y., and Uvalde, Texas.
The Uvalde massacre at Robb Elementary School killed 19 students and two adults.
Casten, who voted in favor of the legislation, asked to address lawmakers for one minute.
“I wanted to take a moment after the shootings this week just to read the names of the children under 10 years old in America who have been killed by guns so far this year,” the Illinois Democrat said on the House floor.
He then proceeded to read the names and ages of more than 20 young children killed by gun violence this year. A video of the remarks posted to the congressman’s Twitter account show images of the children as their names were read.
After roughly a minute and 15 seconds of reciting names, Casten recognized that the clerk of the House was gaveling him to conclude his remarks, as is customary when a lawmaker exceeds their allotted time to speak.
“I realize you’re gaveling me out. There are 600 names on this list,” he said, showing the sheets of paper he was reading from.
“I can’t read these in a minute. Are we gonna act, or are we gonna throw up useless thoughts and prayers? It’s time to act,” he added.
The House has focused on firearm legislation in the past two weeks following the shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde. On Wednesday, the chamber cleared a sweeping gun package that included provisions raising the minimum age to purchase a semi-automatic weapon from 18 to 21, as well as banning civilian use of high-capacity magazines.
The Senate is engaging in bipartisan negotiations with the goal of passing some form of gun legislation in response to the massacres. No proposals, however, have been released yet.
Firearms were the leading cause of death among children up to 19 years old in 2020, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). More than 4,300 children in that age range died. Incidents caused by motor vehicles in traffic came in second, with 3,711 deaths.
In 2020, 281 children between the ages of 1 and 10 died as a result of firearms, according to the CDC.
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