On the recordJuly 13, 2023
Last week, we celebrated our Nation's birthday, a day that conjures up images of flags and fireworks, family barbecues and patriotic parades. But in my district, the dominant image on July 4 was a mint green child's bicycle. That little green bike lay untouched in the street in the Kingsessing neighborhood for days after it was abandoned by its innocent owner when a man wearing combat gear and a mask stalked his neighbors, shooting randomly, killing five and injuring four others. One of the victims was 13. Another was on his dinner break from work. Two-year old twins and their mother were injured when their family car came under fire. My district was not the only one that was the scene of such horrors during the holiday week. There were mass shootings in Baltimore, Fort Worth, and Wichita. From sea to shining sea, on a day when we should have been celebrating the greatness of our Nation and the blessings of liberty, we saw senseless, needless death and destruction. {time} 1015 With the memory of the Highland Park shooting last July Fourth reinforced by more recent shootings, people across the country decided to skip parades and public celebrations because they were afraid of being shot. Today is the 175th day of 2023, and so far this year, there have been over 370 mass shootings. The bloodshed is daily. American families are scared and traumatized. Americans are tired of living in fear at the grocery store, church, school, community celebrations, and parades.…
