Susan Davis: “Today we recognize the first National Gun Violence Awareness Day, and when you look around, you will see a lot of people…”

“Today we recognize the first National Gun Violence Awareness Day, and when you look around, you will see a lot of people wearing orange. This day was declared in memory of Hadiya Pendleton, a teen-age girl who was shot and killed in a park 2 years ago. She would have turned 18 today. Hadiya's story is sadly familiar. For Americans under the age of 20, gun violence is now the second leading cause of death. Mr. Speaker, in recent years, we have lost more children to guns here at home than we did soldiers in Iraq and Afghan. It shouldn't be political to say that these shootings need to stop. I hope we can all agree that America's young people deserve better. We owe it to Hadiya and those like her to come together on this issue and work to prevent future tragedies. We know that simple solutions like mandatory background checks, which a majority of Americans support, can make all the difference. Mr. Speaker, the situation is dire, and action is long overdue. I urge my colleagues to act now on sensible gun control. ____________________”