Political Quotes

“I just wish today that we would hear the same passion for the victims of gang crimes as we have heard on the other side for those who commit violent gang crimes. You know, we have heard a lot about the cost of locking up violent gang criminals. But I have not heard a whole lot about the cost of leaving them in our neighborhoods to create more crimes and leave repeated paths of victims. We just heard about common sense. Well, let me tell you about common sense. Common sense is that you are not going to stop these violent gang criminals by giving them a Popsicle and a hug. You stop them by getting them off the streets. Let us make it clear that we do not believe there is any socially redeeming value for belonging to a violent criminal gang. What mandatory sentences do is they set out clearly a policy that we say, if you are going to belong to one of these gangs, you take the consequences; that if you commit one of these gang crimes, you are going to pay a price. You cannot just roll the dice. Now, our opponents will tell you it is already illegal to do some of these acts. They miss the point. Our whole purpose is to keep those acts from being committed in the first place by getting rid of the gang networks. They believe, they have argued here the way you do that is by giving arts and crafts to members of these violent gangs. We just respectfully disagree.…”