Gun Homicides

Floor Speech

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Ms. SCANLON. Mr. Speaker, while gun deaths in the United States far outpace those of other countries and now are the leading cause of death among children under 18, recent CDC data shows a glimmer of hope: Gun homicides are down slightly from 2021.

We have seen this reduction in places like Philadelphia and Chester as a host of community violence prevention programs, funded by the American Rescue Plan and the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, take hold.

Tragically, the data also shows gun suicides reached a record high last year with nearly 27,000 people across the United States dying from gun suicide. More than half of gun deaths in Pennsylvania alone were from suicides last year.

We have ways to reduce gun suicide in this country, red flag laws, safe storage, and waiting periods, all of which have been proven to reduce gun suicide, but the NRA and extremist Republicans continue to block these commonsense constitutional measures which can save lives.

When we speak about gun violence, we often say there are solutions, research-based solutions. We don't have to live this way. Today, I will add that in the case of gun suicide, we should also be mindful that people don't have to die this way.

By creating legal space between a person in crisis and access to a firearm, more people will live and more families will be spared the immeasurable pain of losing a loved one. We need Congressional action now. Election Misinformation Continues

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Ms. SCANLON. Mr. Speaker, election misinformation continues to plague our country as leaders who know better repeat or fail to contradict baseless conspiracy theories and lies about the integrity of our elections. Not only do these lies and conspiracy theories undermine public faith in our democracy and elections, they cost taxpayer dollars.

Since the 2020 election, in the county where I live, we have seen multiple baseless lawsuits filed seeking to overturn or audit election results. None of them have produced evidence of misconduct or inaccurate results. What they have done is cost taxpayer dollars in legal fees, court resources, and time and effort by county employees and election officials that have to be diverted to defending these groundless suits.

I am proud of the professional administrators and volunteers who work so diligently every election to safeguard our democracy and make it work, but it is also important that leaders from across the political spectrum step up and stand up for our democratic processes and call out those who are trying to undermine them, as well as call out those who are wasting taxpayer dollars.

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