Political Quotes

“Mr. President, a couple weeks ago, Jaylin Ellzey was a freshman at Fenger Academy High School in Chicago. According to his uncle, Jacob, he was an outgoing, kindhearted kid. He lived with his mother. He had two sisters and three brothers. Jaylin is not around anymore because he was one of those victims of gun violence in the city of Chicago. His uncle said: Summer in the city, it's just something different. Other kids look forward to going to summer camp. He was just trying to make sure he lived another day. His uncle, Jacob, began tearing up as he recalled his favorite memory of Jaylin as a small child. Whenever Jaylin and his brother would come stay with their uncle, they would take a bath, and then they would nestle amongst the pillows and the blankets, waiting for their uncle to blast them with hot air from a blow dryer. ``He was just a lovable kid surviving his environment,'' said his uncle. ``And he knew about family. Family was always instilled in him.'' Since my life was changed in December of 2012, when 20 first graders were killed in Sandy Hook, I have tried to come down to the floor every couple weeks and tell the stories of victims of gun violence in this country to try to put some personality behind the 10,000 lives that have been lost in the last 100 days, and I told you about 5 of the victims this morning. Our inaction is complicity. There are tough things, and then there are easy things.…”