campaign and with victims like colin goddard and his family and others you will hear from. because they have taken this

tragedy in their lives and responded by fighting for responsible gun laws. doing so we try to show respect towards those whose lives were lost that day and this may give their memories enduring purpose. but we are gathered on the anniversary, the fifth anniversary of the virginia tech shooting. the fact is we could be observing a remembrance and anniversary nearly every day of every year of victims of gun violence. in fact, since that day in 2007, 12 more mass shootings of a similar nature have occurred claiming the lives of 92 people. it didn't stop. it continues and it will continue unless we have sensible responsible legislation.

just weeks ago a gunman opened fire at a small religious university near oakland, california, killing seven and wru wounding three. americans need to ask -- "where is the outrage?" each year nearly 100,000 people are shot with a firearm. 20,000 of whom are children. more than 30,000 americans die each year in gun-related incidents. including 12,000 who are murdered. it should be shocking to all americans that theun homicide rate in the ñóited states is 20 times higher than it is in all other comparable supposedly civilized industrialized countries. so you have to ask -- why are gun crimesn the united states so much more prevalent than in

the rest of the world. and, of course, a good place to start is the fact that we have nearly as many guns in the united states for every man, woman and child who lives here. guns permeate our culture. despite the overwhelming number of guns in the united states and a correspondingly large number of gun-related deaths the national rifle association and other gun groups believe the answer to that gun violence that those guns generate is even more guns. they want to expand and have been successful in this congress and expanding concealed carry laws. and, in fact,0protections for those that use their guns irresponsibly. here in(congressnd in far too many state houses he country their side is, in fact, winning.

loosening already porous gun laws and blocking the passage of any sensible gun control measures. i understand that as many as 30 states now have vigilante laws comparable to florida's thanks to the national rifle association and the american legislative exchange council which has worked hand in hand with them in trying to get this legislation through even though it didn't come interest any grassroots effort on the part of citizens. it came from the top. it came from the nra working with the legislators with threats of political repercussions if they don't comply and, of coue, rewas, financial and political, when they do and they have been. there are too many elected officials who are aware of damage that gun violence does to

our society, who understand this is an affront to our most basic values, the ght to life. the right to the liberty to be able to walk safely onour streets, the right to happiness that has been destroyed by the senseless wanton violence, the happiness of the thousands of loved ones who have lost people in their lives in ways that virtually nothing could have been done to stop it. the sadness that throughout our society for these inexplicable losses. now, some believe that any strengthening of gun laws is an

affront to the second amendment. others are too afraid of political consequences, as i say, to do what they know is the right thing. but either way it is a failure of leadership. but that's the role of the brady campaign and each of you here today to make your vceheard this and to let the members of congress know what erll hasonover the last several years, the american public supports common sense laws that protect communities from gun violence. so as we pay tribute to the memories of those precious lives lost five years ago at virginia tech let us commiturselves today tooing all that we can to enact sensible laws that could prevent this tragedy from recurring time and again. we owe that. we at least owe that to the lost

lives that give us occasion to be here today. thank you all. >> thank you, congressman moran. the congressman talked about how it's the role of brady and the folks here to start holding our congress accountable. i would build on that by saying it is the role of the erican public to start doing that and not just based on the magnude of this problem which you're right, congressman, shoulde shocking to everybody but because of the shockingly simple solutions that exists. we are here to ask on behalf of the american public very simple questions like, senator vitter, do you think or do you not think

that geoe zimmerman, a man with an arrest record and a historof violence should be permitted to carry a loaded hidden gun on the streets of any state in this country? we are here to ask questions like, representative canter, do you think that a convicted felon should be le to walk into any place in our country and buy a gun without any background check? these are the simple questions and these are thsimple questions around which our leaders are failing us and we're going to put a laser focus on this and start to hold the people that ve been elected to represent us accountable for the decisions that they are making, the decisionthat have sued in many of the tragedies that you are going to heabou today and the decisions that cost thousands of lives every year. now it is my hon to introduce colin goddard who was there at virginia tech that day five years ago and will share his story with you. good morning.

i'd like to begin by saying that i started the first year of my@ life in mogadishu, somalia. my family moved to bangladesh. and then my family moved to indonesia before the events in east timor began to erupt. and then my family moved to cairo egypt during the attack on 9/11 and all the while my extended family living here in the states was petrified for my safety, couldn't wait for me to come back to america where it was safe to live. so finally, once i enroll at university at virginia tech in a small southwest virginia town i get put in the most dangerous situation of my entire life here in america. it was that day that started me on this path but it was seeing what happened to me happen to other families that ultimately brought me here today which is why i wanted to invite a

symbolic group of 32 for the 32 people killed at virginia tech five years ago today and for the 32 americans we lose every single day. some people here were associated with shootings that you have heard about that were on the front page of the newspaper. and others were shootings that you haven't heard about. so we wanted to take this day that everybody acknowledges as the worst mass shooting in our country's history and to acknowledge thgreater agy that happens every single day that goes unnoticed. further, we are up here because of what i heard said from elected leaders after the virginia tech shooting, after the shootingn tucson, after the shootings that happen every single day that now is not the time to talk about gun violence. now is not the time. it's not appropriate to talk about solutions. so my question to speaker john

boehr,y quo marity leader cantor, my question to every single member who works up here, if today, the fifth and versery of the worst shooting in our country's history, is not the time, if tomorrow when 32 more americans killed from gunfire is not the time, which day is the time? which day would it be appropriate for you to talk about this issue and talk about what we can do? it is beyond time for us which is why we are here to make you talk about this, to bring this in front of you and demand that you support some common sense solutions that the vast majority of your people support. so i'm honored to be here with the 32 families. and at this point i would like to turn it over to them. thank you very much. >> now i want to introduce my

brother, matthew, who is going to say a couple$of words about his tragedy. >> hello. i was shot at the empire state buildingrom a guy whoúgotúthe gun in florida and he was from another country and he gave the address to his hotel. he shot me in my head. as you can see i didn't die but he killed my guitarist. and my frkend. what cao i say? i would like to challenge everybody to stand up to congress and outlaw gunsust what it says there. thanks. >> now we're going to hear from the rest of the 32 one by one in alphabetical order. jeanne bishop. >> éhis isy(younger sister nancy bishop and her husband, richard. nancy was 25 years old and three months pregnant when an intruder

broke intoheir home and shot them to death. it was completely acceptsless. she was three monuhs pregnant with what would have been my first niece or nephew. he had been diagnosed a sociopath when trying to kill his own family. by xoisonmng their milk. i am here to ask congress toe sure that guns do not get into the hands of dangerous people like the one who killed my family members. thank you. >> pamela bosley. >> i'mere to intróduce you to my surdered in chicago. this is my son, terrell. 9 my son, terrell bosley, who was 18, wamurdered on april 4th, 006, his grieods, he helped!his friend bring erums in a church. he was on safe grouods and someone took iis life. he was an!awesome!son who loved! his!family. he was a gospel!bass player. who had the opportunity to play

for so many great artists. one of his dreams!was!to be a famous gospel bass player and travel around the world. this was ended when somebody was shooting and had a .45 illegal caliber gun and shot my son. his death devastated my family and my youngest son prays every day that nobody gets shot. there is not a day that goes by that i do not miss and think about my son, ell. even though it has beesix years, the terrible pain remains the same. noother should ever have to bury their son. i am demanding congress toet the guns out of the hands of the people who should not have them and bring justice to my son, terrell. sherialyn birdsong. >> this is my husband, rickey birdsong who for 19 years was a

division one basketball coach. his last place of coaching was at northwestern university. we met when we were 16 yearsld and for 27 years we experienced the american dream. then on julynd, 1999, our american dream became the american nightmare. rickey was gunned down in cold blood whilhe wasogging with our two$youngest children ages 8 and 10 in our quiet neighborhood in illinois outside of chicigo. i lost my husband and best friend, my three children lost a great father. rickey had been headaskgtball coach nthwestern and he had itten a book aboutoaching your kids to be winners in the game of life. after coaching he committed his life to developing communities. he was devoted to his family and

hisúfaith andúthe world and my family lost a great man that day allúbecause"of a dangerous man who never should have had a gun. ricky's killer was a neo-nizi with a violent pa 9 he didn't just kill ricky. he went on a shoot iing spree throughout illinois and indiana that weekend shooting at 29 killingl wounding nine and killing two. jews, asians,úafrican americans, anyone whose race was different from his. how could this happen? this neo-nazi was not allowed to have a gun because he was subjected to a domestic vience rustraining order. he went into a gun store and was turned downúcause he failed a background check but he found an unlmcensed gun weller in the classified ads and that's how he bought his guns. because thisellerúwas

unlicensede was not required to do a backgroundheck. no father anywhere on this planet much less in america should be gunned down in front of his children. it's inhumane. why won't congress close this loop hole? i learned as a child thathe love of money is the rootúof all evil. it is a sin and a shame that greed and money drives our laws instead of consciousness and common sense. i'm here todayo call on congress to act now to pass common sense gun laws to keep guns away from dangerous people. >> we are gointo ask congress, should the man who shot rickey birdsonge able to buy a gun anywhere in our country legally?