[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 41 (Tuesday, April 4, 2006)]
[House]
[Pages H1423-H1424]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         COSTS OF GUN VIOLENCE

  Mrs. McCARTHY. Mr. Speaker, I ask permission to take the time of the 
gentleman from New Jersey.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Without objection, the gentlewoman is 
recognized for 5 minutes.
  There was no objection.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. McCarthy) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mrs. McCARTHY. Mr. Speaker, every week I stand here and talk about 
commonsense approaches to reducing gun violence in this country. And 
yet this body sees fit to chip away at existing gun laws. So tonight I 
want to talk about the effects of gun violence in terms that everybody 
in this body can understand, dollars and cents.
  Throughout America, our States are experiencing extraordinary budget 
problems, forcing them to cut spending on many important initiatives. A 
great deal of these budget woes are caused by skyrocketing health care 
costs, and the continued cuts to Medicaid aren't going to help the 
situation.
  Of course, Congress will not allow funding for the Centers for 
Disease Control to study the true economic cost of gun violence, so we 
have to use data from independent sources.
  Independent sources have shown gun violence costs our economy over 
$100 billion every year. In fact, each gun death costs our economy $2.8 
million. Gun violence increases law enforcement spending. Gun violence 
costs the economy billions in lost productivity. And while Congress 
won't let us learn the exact amount, gun violence costs our health care 
system more than $2 billion every single year.
  Since gun violence plagues so many low-income communities, victims 
are often uninsured. And who picks up the tab for uninsured victims of 
gun violence? American taxpayers, that's who. So even if you don't 
think about gun violence as an important issue, you are paying for it.
  It is obvious something must be done, and it is also obvious that 
this body has no plans to intervene in this public health crisis. So it 
is up to our local communities and neighborhoods.
  Across the country people are fed up, but they are trying to make a 
difference in their own area. I have been to many events that have had 
politicians, school officials, law enforcement officers and others 
telling young people about the dangers of guns. But not once has 
anybody turned the microphone around and asked the kids what do they 
think.
  So many young people live on the front lines of the gun violence 
epidemic. The rhetoric on both sides of this issue must stop, and we 
must start to learn to listen.
  This isn't about the second amendment; this isn't about kids dying. 
Many of the people who disagree with my views on the gun issue will 
say, Guns don't kill people; people do.
  But what that doesn't mean is we can't take steps to make sure guns 
don't fall into the hands of the wrong people. This isn't about taking 
away guns from law-abiding citizens who hunt or shoot skeet, nor is it 
about depriving law-abiding citizens from defending themselves and 
their families. In fact, we can save so many lives without affecting a 
single lawful gun owner in this country.
  This is about keeping guns away from felons and gang members. This is 
about making sure our police departments have the tools they need to 
track down illegal guns. This isn't about running honest gun dealers 
out of business. It is about cracking down on the 1 percent of corrupt 
gun dealers who sell 57 percent of the guns used in crimes.
  Gun rights advocates have as much stake in this as anybody else. Many 
see gun violence as an inner-city problem. But let's not forget that 
gang violence and drug crime also started out as an inner-city problem. 
We acted too late, and now gangs and drugs are commonplace in suburbs 
and rural communities.
  So as we head home for the spring recess, I ask my colleagues to do 
something we don't do very often or very well: listen. It is time to 
listen to the people being affected by gun violence. Listen to our 
young people in under-served communities. Listen to our police 
departments who are losing officers to illegal guns every week. And 
listen to the families who have lost loved ones due to gun violence.
  The answers to this epidemic of gun violence do not reside in this 
Chamber or on K Street, but in the hearts and minds of the people that 
we represent. It is time that they are heard.

[[Page H1424]]

  The vast majority of legal gun owners understand the need to stop gun 
violence. We must all work together, regardless of our interpretation 
of the second amendment, or whether we live in an urban, suburban, or 
rural area.
  Let us make a commitment to replace our rhetoric with action. Let us 
make our communities a better and safer place for all young people of 
all backgrounds.
  Together, we can stop this public health care crisis and save lives. 
I came to Congress to save lives. I will not give up on this fight. We 
can reduce gun violence in this country. We just have to find common 
ground on how we are going to do that.

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