[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 115 (Thursday, September 6, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1608]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        VIOLENCE PREVENTION WEEK

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. SOLOMON P. ORTIZ

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 6, 2001

  Mr. ORTIZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend the community of 
Brownsville, Texas, for reminding our children about the values we 
cherish by commencing ``Violence Prevention Week'' as the new school 
year begins.
  Each year, parents, students and educational professionals begin the 
school with more trepidation than we ever did, for today the worst-case 
scenario is not that our children will get in a fight, but that they 
will be a victim of gun violence.
  Here in Texas, we know that if the central component of these 
tragedies were merely the existence of guns, the level of school 
violence we see today would have always been so. It is much more: the 
responsibility that family teaches (including gun safety and proper 
storage); the faith and tolerance taught by family, churches, 
synagogues and mosques; the entertainment our children see; and the 
everyday examples of behavior to which young people are exposed.
  In short, it is many things. Our society at large is far less to 
blame for the incidents of violence we have seen in communities across 
the country than are the individual families and communities whose job 
it is to be a good example every day. We should teach responsibility, 
emphasize faith, and offer age-appropriate entertainment and examples 
of behavior to children.
  Brownsville is taking an important step in speaking to the issue of 
school violence by planning Violence Prevention Week, sponsored by the 
Brownsville Independent School District, the local law enforcement 
agencies, the Brownsville Chamber of Commerce and the local church 
community.
  Events throughout the week include: a formal proclamation and efforts 
to bring up the subject around the dinner table, essay contests to make 
the subject pertinent to students, a ``Violence Prevention Fair'' at a 
local mall, school addresses by Dana Scott, sister of Rachel Scott, was 
killed at Columbine, and the incorporation of topics relating to 
violence prevention into the school curriculum.
  Events will culminate in a LIFE (Laborers in Fields of Education) 
breakfast for educators and community leaders on Saturday, Sept. 8. The 
guest speaker will be Darrell Scott, father of Rachel Scott, whose 
story of refusing to deny her faith at her killer's request inspired 
millions around the world.