Impact of Gun Violence in America

Floor Speech

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Mr. HORSFORD. Madam Speaker, I thank Congresswoman Sheila Cherfilus- McCormick for her tremendous leadership and also Congressman Jonathan Jackson. The two have been great co-chairs for our Special Order hour, a time when the Congressional Black Caucus comes to the floor to discuss important issues affecting all of America.

Today, my colleagues in the Congressional Black Caucus are here to recognize the impact that gun violence has on Black communities and communities all around our country.

In recent years, our Nation has bore witness to horrific acts of gun violence in our communities, from the racist murder of nine parishioners at the Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, to the attack at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York, to police-involved shootings of unarmed Black men, women, and children.

Time and again, when these tragic events happen, we hear politicians in Washington offer their thoughts and prayers, but we know that thoughts and prayers are simply not enough. They are not enough to end the violence that traumatizes entire communities and rips family members and friends away from their loved ones. They are not enough to end the cycles of violence created by the systemic and structural disadvantages of generations of racism and disinvestment in our communities. We must do more than offer thoughts and prayers alone.

In order to solve this crisis, we must first understand the problem before us. Data shows that Black Americans are disproportionately impacted by gun violence in our country. Specifically, Black Americans experience 12 times the gun homicides, 18 times the gun assault injuries, and nearly 3 times the fatal police shootings of White Americans.

On top of this, we know that these guns are not manufactured in our communities, which is why we believe gun manufacturers should be held accountable, and those who allow access to guns should be held accountable.

Alarmingly, despite the fact that Black boys and men account for just 6 percent of the total population, they comprise more than half of all gun homicide victims in our Nation.

Madam Speaker, and to the chairs, I know personally the effects of losing a loved one to gun violence. My father was shot and killed when I was 19 years old, a freshman in college.

I remember getting the call that so many loved ones fear getting, and, in serving the district, the call that so many of my constituents tell me that they experience, the call that says that you don't get to say good-bye, that you don't get to tell your loved one once again that you love them, that they don't have the opportunity to see you, as my father didn't have with me, to finish my education, to raise three children, to serve my community, and to be here on the floor of the House of Representatives speaking about the issue of gun safety, not just in my community but in communities all across the country.

These are problems that can be attributed to a number of factors, including the combination of weak gun laws as well as systemic racial inequities, including unequal access to safe housing, inadequate educational and employment opportunities, and a history of disinvestment in public infrastructure and services in communities of color.

To remedy the ongoing issue of gun violence, we must continue to advance policies aimed at saving lives and making our communities safer.

In the last Congress, the Congressional Black Caucus was instrumental in the House, passing the most significant piece of gun reform legislation in nearly 30 years with the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which was signed into law by President Biden.

The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act took meaningful steps to protect our children, keep our schools safe, and reduce the overall threat of gun violence around our country by extending background checks for firearm purchases, clarifying licensing requirements, funding red flag laws and crisis intervention programs, and weakening the boyfriend loophole.

This landmark piece of legislation was a positive step toward curbing gun violence in our communities, but we need to take more action to reimagine public safety, including holding law enforcement officers more accountable, using public health resources to address mental health crises, and ensuring all communities are well resourced with access to job opportunities, affordable childcare, and social services that improve quality of life.

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleagues on the Congressional Black Caucus, as well as the partners of nonprofit organizations like Giffords, Brady, and Everytown, for their tireless work to advance safer communities and to save lives.

To the people who have made this Congress act last Congress and who will demand that we act now, we know that public safety is not a red or blue issue. It is an American issue.

There is no reason that in the most powerful country in the world, we can't do more to save lives, reduce crime, and break the cycle of violence. Our thoughts and prayers are simply not enough. We need action.

Madam Speaker, I thank Congresswoman Cherfilus-McCormick for her leadership on these issues and Congressman Jackson. They experience these tragedies every day in the communities that they both serve.

Madam Speaker, you have the commitment of the Congressional Black Caucus and its members that we will continue to advance safety for all of our communities.

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