Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act of 2022

Floor Speech

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Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act.

It is heartbreaking to stand here today, just days after 10 innocent lives were taken in a Buffalo, New York, grocery store by a gunman espousing white supremacist views and hatred toward African Americans.

This devastating massacre took me back to June 17, 2015, when another white supremacist gunned down nine parishioners at Charleston's historic Emanuel AME Church.

In the intervening years, we have witnessed far too many other acts of domestic terrorism: from a counterprotest in Charlottesville, Virginia; to a synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; to a Walmart in El Paso, Texas; to a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin; and to an Asian-owned nail salon in Atlanta, Georgia. All told, over 200 mass shootings this year.

To be sure, all of these shootings have not been racially motivated or motivated by hate, but all of them share one thing in common: They have been committed in a country too tolerant of irresponsible regulations of weapons of war and a proliferation of firearms of mass destruction.

This legislation is long overdue. It would enable the Justice Department, the Department of Homeland Security, and the FBI to prevent, investigate, and prosecute cases of domestic terrorism more effectively.

I, and many others in this body, know what it is to experience acts of racial hatred and witness events of domestic terrorism. We cannot continue to turn a blind eye to white supremacist vigilantes.

It impacts all of us. While the gunman in Buffalo was aiming for people who looked like me, others who did not look like me fell victim to his evil act.

Shortly after my first meeting with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., back in 1960, I met with one of my professors, Mrs. Rosa Harris, to share the Saul to Paul transformation I was experiencing. Two days later, Mrs. Harris handed me a copy of Dr. King's 1958 book, ``Stride Toward Freedom.''

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Mr. CLYBURN. To share one passage from that book, I quote, ``True peace is not merely the absence of tension; it is the presence of justice.''

Mr. Speaker, this legislation will provide Federal agencies with necessary tools to ensure that peace and justice prevail. I urge a ``yes'' vote from all Members of this august body.

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