Nancy Pelosi: 'We must break the grip of the gun lobby on Congress'


House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi vowed to fight to restore Democratic majorities in the Senate and House during her speech Thursday at the Democratic National Convention.
Pelosi praised the party for looking "like the 21st century," compared to the "restricted club that met in convention in Cleveland last week." She said their mission is much different than the Republican Party's — "we come to public service and to this convention not to trumpet darkness, but to fight a way forward for our country, a bright light forward." Pelosi laid out the Democratic agenda, saying the plan is to fight terror "at home and abroad" and eliminate the Islamic State by being "strong and smart, not reckless and rash."
She also demanded "courage, not cowardice, in the face of the National Rifle Association. For the sake of the 91 Americans killed by gun violence each day, we must break the grip of the gun lobby on Congress and keep guns out of the hands of criminals and terrorists. If you're on the no fly list, you belong on the no buy list." The Democrats will work to overturn Citizens United, Pelosi continued, remove barriers to voting, invest in education, and create new jobs with living wages because "every family should be able to buy a home, send their children to college, retire with dignity, and never have to worry that their Social Security will be privatized or Medicare's guarantee will be taken away."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
‘A legacy news brand brings a visibility of its own’
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
8 of the best ‘cozy crime’ series of all time
The Week Recommends Murder mysteries don’t necessarily have to make us miserable, and these shows have perfected a feel-good crime formula
-
Youth revolts rattle Morocco as calls against corruption grow louder
THE EXPLAINER Snowballing controversy over World Cup construction and civic services has become a serious threat to Morocco’s political stability
-
Bondi stonewalls on Epstein, Comey in Senate face-off
Speed Read Attorney General Pam Bondi denied charges of using the Justice Department in service of Trump’s personal vendettas
-
Court allows Trump’s Texas troops to head to Chicago
Speed Read Trump is ‘using our service members as pawns in his illegal effort to militarize our nation’s cities,’ said Gov. J.B. Pritzker
-
Judge bars Trump’s National Guard moves in Oregon
Speed Read In an emergency hearing, a federal judge blocked President Donald Trump from sending National Guard troops into Portland
-
Museum head ousted after Trump sword gift denial
Speed Read Todd Arrington, who led the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, denied the Trump administration a sword from the collection as a gift for King Charles
-
Trump declares ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartels
speed read This provides a legal justification for recent lethal military strikes on three alleged drug trafficking boats
-
Supreme Court rules for Fed’s Cook in Trump feud
Speed Read Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook can remain in her role following Trump’s attempts to oust her
-
Judge rules Trump illegally targeted Gaza protesters
Speed Read The Trump administration’s push to arrest and deport international students for supporting Palestine is deemed illegal
-
Trump: US cities should be military ‘training grounds’
Speed Read In a hastily assembled summit, Trump said he wants the military to fight the ‘enemy within’ the US