Howard Dean: “On Tuesday, as they were leaving football practice at Roxborough High School in Philadelphia, five teenage boys were…”

“On Tuesday, as they were leaving football practice at Roxborough High School in Philadelphia, five teenage boys were shot. Four survived the horrific shooting, but 14-year-old Nicolas Elizalde was killed. God bless him. Earlier that day, I stood with Representative Scanlon, the Giffords organization, and the community to advocate for gun violence prevention. One of the advocates in our audience was a grandmother like me. Only hours later, it was her grandson, Nicolas, who was gunned down leaving football practice. I cannot imagine her pain. Nicolas is the 23rd child to be shot and murdered in Philadelphia this year. There is a frightening trend of far too many illicit guns ending up in the hands of teenagers. This must end. We need serious solutions, not finger-pointing, to address inner-city gun violence. We cannot simply out-police loose gun laws that contribute to teenagers getting their hands on guns and murdering one another. So, while this may be the final day of our session, I will not stop working on this issue. I will be sending a letter to ATF requesting an increased focus on ending the pipeline of guns to our children's hands. ____________________”