Jon L. Christensen: “a long shadow is falling over America. Slowly the shadow is blotting out the sunny streets and parks where children…”

“a long shadow is falling over America. Slowly the shadow is blotting out the sunny streets and parks where children play. It is blocking out the moonlight where couples walk. It is even blocking out the warm welcoming glow of our houses at night. That shadow is crime, and after many years of thinking it could not fall on the quiet communities from which we have come, it has. The violence that trails gangs and drugs like a vicious dog drove homicides in my city of Omaha to an all time high in 1995. There were 41 killings last year in Omaha, 8 more than in 1994. Omaha's police made nearly 20 percent more juvenile arrests in 1995 than in 1994. And the shadow even claimed the life of one of our brave men in blue. Many of our districts may have been free from the worst of crime for many years, but now we must turn and face the shadow, and drive it back. This evening I want to talk about how I think we can restore safety to our streets and sanity to the system. I am fighting hard to protect the American dream. I believe it is an essential part, to be free of the fear that we have today. We must have safe streets and secure schools, and I believe we can.”