Addressing Inner-City Gun Violence

Floor Speech

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Ms. DEAN. Madam Speaker, 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.

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