Bill Delahunt: “This bill is an example of what can be accomplished when we get down to business and become serious and forget about…”

“This bill is an example of what can be accomplished when we get down to business and become serious and forget about sound bytes. This bill will truly make a difference. It is going to work. I am confident that it will reduce violence in this country. I spent some 20 years of my life prosecuting some of the most violent criminals anywhere, and I know there are not any simple answers. There are no quick fixes. There are no panaceas. But this bill works because it relies upon people who do have the answers, the people in the community who understand the problems. Unlike some bills that we have considered in the past, this legislation does not dictate policy from Washington. It embraces and supports broad-based, comprehensive local strategies that have proven to be effective and that work in the real world. Let me give my colleagues an example. Boston, Massachusetts, the capital city of my home State, like other cities, experienced a dramatic decrease in gang violence thanks to a balanced strategy of prevention, intervention, and enforcement.”