Sam Gibbons: “American schools are under a siege of violence. Recent events have again focused this Nation's attention on violence in…”

“American schools are under a siege of violence. Recent events have again focused this Nation's attention on violence in American schools. Despite the long-standing lip service to the problem, media reports have recently highlighted that schools are not safe places of learning. Mr. Speaker, let me share with this body some alarming statistics. Physical attacks or fights without the use of weapons lead the list of reported crimes in our schools, with about 190,000 such events occurring in any given year. Moreover, 116,000 incidents of theft or larceny were reported, along with 98,000 incidents of vandalism. Most alarming, Mr. Speaker, is that serious crimes included 4,000 rapes or sexual assaults, 7,000 robberies, and 11,000 physical attacks or fights with dangerous weapons, knives and guns. These events are taking place in every congressional district in the country. Mr. Speaker, the time to act is now. For the safety of our children, it is imperative that this Congress focus its attention on this critical issue.”