On the recordMay 21, 2018
It is with great honor that I rise today to anchor the Congressional Black Caucus Special Order hour. I would like to thank the Congressional Black Caucus chairman, Cedric Richmond, for his leadership in this effort. For the next 60 minutes, we have an opportunity to speak directly to the American people about issues of great importance to the Congressional Black Caucus and the millions of constituents whom we represent. Tonight's Special Order hour topic is gun violence and gun violence prevention. Mr. Speaker, how many more lives? Mr. Speaker, there are 13,000 gun homicides a year in the United States. On an average day, 96 Americans are killed by guns. Sadly, our children are not untouched by this senseless violence. On an average day, seven children and teens are killed with guns, and since 2013, there have been 311 school shootings. Kyle McLeod; Angelique Ramirez; Chris Stone; Jared Black; Kimberly Vaughan; Sabika Sheikh; Cynthia Tisdale; Glenda Ann Perkins; Shana Fisher; Christian Garcia. On Friday, eight children and two of their teachers were slaughtered during the early morning hours of the schoolday, and those were their names. Many students thought it was a drill when a fellow student wearing a ``Born to Kill'' shirt opened fire at his school. Throughout the weekend, witnesses and survivors recounted the sheer terror of the shooting and its frenzied aftermath. This is unacceptable, Mr. Speaker. Enough is enough.…
