[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 3 (Monday, January 14, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E25-E26]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         A CULTURE OF VIOLENCE

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, January 14, 2013

  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today and join the Members of 
the Congressional Black Caucus to address the pervasive culture of 
violence that exists in America today.
  The community in Newtown, Connecticut--along with the rest of the 
country--is still reeling from the inconceivable tragedy that took 
place at Sandy Hook Elementary on December 14, 2012; our hearts still 
ache with sadness and disbelief for the families and loved ones of the 
children and women who lost their lives in this senseless act of 
violence.
  As the Founder and Co-Chair of the Congressional Children's Caucus 
and a senior Member of the Judiciary Committee, I have listened to the 
tragic testimony of individuals who have survived or lost loved ones as 
a result of gun violence.
  In the words of President Obama after the Sandy Hook Elementary 
shooting, ``We're going to have to come together and take meaningful 
action to prevent more tragedies like this, regardless of the 
politics.''
  While it is certainly true that violent crime and homicide rates in 
this country have been declining in recent years, they are still far 
above those in other industrialized nations.
  Moreover, in America, there exists a pernicious culture of violence; 
a subculture that with today's technologically advanced weaponry is far 
more dangerous to public safety than ever before. At no point in our 
nation's history has a single human been more capable of inflicting 
massive death and misery, and our society is producing more individuals 
who wish to employ such means to carry out their ill intentions.
  Far too often, the tool of choice for would-be killers is a firearm. 
Moreover, military-style assault weapons with high-capacity magazines 
are not just in the hands of our men and women in the armed services; 
they on our streets. Many of them are in the wrong hands, and end up 
being the highly efficient tools of criminals and mass murderers.
  Today marks a month since the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting. In that 
time, at least 836 more people in America have died from gun violence 
and accidental shootings.
  This isn't a fluke; every day, on average, 33 Americans are murdered 
with guns, amounting to more than 12,000 people a year. In addressing 
this issue, I recognize and respect other cultures that exist in 
America; law-abiding citizens who are responsible in their ownership of 
firearms. Many of these citizens are reasonable with respect to the 
lethal capacity of their firearms, opting not to obtain assault weapons 
or to equip assault weapons with 30, 50, 75, or 100-round magazines.
  Our reaction to, God forbid, the next time a madman enters a crowded 
movie theatre with the intent to kill, cannot simply be to wish that 
there was an armed good Samaritan in the audience who had the courage, 
opportunity and ability to stop a psychopathic shooter wielding a semi-
automatic weapon equipped with a high-capacity magazine.
  I commend the President for convening a Gun Violence Task Force, and 
Vice President Biden for his outstanding leadership.
  As the President develops policy recommendations, as Members of 
Congress, we need to act as well.


H.R. 65: ``The Child Gun Safety and Gun Access Prevention Act of 2013''

  We have all been shaken by tragic events in which children are the 
victims of gun violence or accidents. Whether these events occurred in 
Newtown, CT, Aurora, CO, or on the streets of Chicago, IL, we need to 
effectively address the safety of our children immediately. Urban, 
suburban, or rural, guns have impacted children across the demographic 
spectrum.
  While the nation's attention has often been drawn toward some of the 
more high-profile events, the broader statistics are disturbing, 
demonstrating a real need to address how we protect our nation's 
children from gun violence.
  Every 30 minutes, a child or teenager in America dies or is injured 
by a gun. Every 3 hours and 15 minutes, a child or teenager loses their 
life to a firearm. In 2010, 82 children under 5 years of age lost their 
lives due to guns. To put that in perspective, 58 law enforcement 
officers died in the line of duty that year.
  As the 113th Congress debates various proposals for gun legislation 
in light of recent tragedies, we can act now to pass H.R. 65, a bill 
with common sense standards that is focused on protecting our nation's 
children from gun violence and accidents.
  H.R. 65 will raise the handgun eligibility age from 18 to 21, and 
will prohibit persons under the age of 21 from possessing semiautomatic 
assault weapons or large capacity magazines.
  Moreover, H.R. 65 increases penalties on individuals who knowingly 
transfer a handgun, ammunition, semiautomatic assault weapon, or large 
capacity ammunition feeding device to a person under age 21.
  In addition, H.R. 65 will also prohibit importers, manufacturers, and 
dealers from transferring firearms without providing the purchaser with 
a gun storage or safety device.
  Finally, H.R. 65 authorizes the U.S. Attorney General to provide 
grants to enable local law enforcement agencies to develop and sponsor 
gun safety classes for parents and children.
  These provisions, and others, can go a long way toward making our 
homes, schools, and streets safer for children across this country. We 
may not be able to prevent every gun-related tragedy from occurring in 
the future, but we have a responsibility to implement reasonable 
standards that will prevent the loss of innocent lives.
  As we call for legislation to address gun related violence, it is 
also important to address another growing epidemic . . . the epidemic 
of bullying. We live in a society where children are exposed to so many 
different influences. Unfortunately, there are hundreds of children who 
have to face bullies in the classroom and in cyberspace. As we discuss 
the culture of violence, we must always remember the impact that this 
culture has on our nation's children.


                          BULLYING PREVENTION

  Today Bullying is defined as unwanted, aggressive behavior that 
involves a real or perceived power imbalance. The behavior is repeated, 
or has the potential to be repeated, over time. Those who are bullied 
and who bully others may have serious, lasting problems. It used to be 
that Bullying just happened primarily among over youth but as we are 
seeing today even the elderly and adults are being bullied. This must 
stop.
  I introduced in the 112th Congress H.R. 83 ``Juvenile Accountability 
Block Grants Reauthorization and Bullying Prevention and Intervention 
Act,'' which calls for the reauthorization of the Juvenile 
Accountability Block Grants at $40 million for each FY 2013-2017, which 
amounts to $200 million in funding.
  In addition, my bill would add purpose area to provide for grant 
funding to States for programs that address bullying, cyberbullying 
prevention, and gang prevention and intervention in addition to 
expressing a Sense of Congress on the importance of best practices.
  The JABG program authorizes the Attorney General to make grants to 
states and units of local government to strengthen their juvenile 
justice systems and foster accountability within their juvenile 
populations. The program focuses resources on holding juveniles 
accountable for their actions and building up the juvenile justice 
system in the states.
  It also essentially signifies the high-water mark of the federal 
government's movement away from an emphasis on rehabilitating juveniles 
and toward the idea that juveniles need to be punished for their 
crimes; indeed, the only core mandate of the JABG program is that 
states must begin to implement a system of graduated sanctions in order 
to be eligible for funding.
  Many of the deadly cases of bullying arise when children are teased 
and tormented simply for being different. There has been a recent 
upswing of suicides amongst lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered 
(LGBT) teens as a result of bullying.
  Almost 85 percent of LGBT teenagers are harassed in high school 
because of their sexual orientation, with 61 percent of gay youth 
reporting that they felt unsafe in school and 30% staying home to avoid 
bullying.
  By law, we require our children to go to school. Therefore, we have a 
duty to maintain a safe and healthy environment for children, one in 
which they should not be afraid. It is important that our children know 
that bullying will not be taken lightly, and that there will be 
consequences for such actions.

[[Page E26]]

  Thirty percent (30%) of U.S. students in grades six through ten are 
involved in moderate or frequent bullying--as bullies, as victims, or 
as both--according to the results of the first national survey on this 
subject. I held a Local-Federal Hearing on Bullying in Houston, Texas 
and hearings on Bullying in Washington, DC. I heard testimony from law 
enforcement officials about some of the difficulties they faced when 
combating bullying. Over 40 advocates and victims from across the 
country also testified.
  Last year, I invited the Director of the movie Bully, Lee Hirch and 
other experts to screen the movie Bully and for a Briefing on the issue 
of Bullying. When the MPAA threaten to rate the movie with an R rating, 
I requested that they reconsider, the movie literally follows to lives 
of several children who are bullied in schools and needed to be seen by 
children. I was pleased with the MPAA relented and gave the movie a PG-
13 rating.
  I have read the accounts of bullying victims and indeed the language 
from those accounts is often graphic and deeply moving. This is the 
type of language that our children hear and the behavior that they have 
witness in their classrooms and on their playgrounds.
  Bullying has become a crucial issue of epidemic proportions affecting 
millions of children and countless schools across our country. Studies 
show that 1 out of 4 children have been physically bullied, and the 
percentages grow exponentially when one considers the number of 
children affected emotionally and psychologically, and those who have 
bullied other children. Lately, instances of bullying have taken a 
deadly turn all over the country. We must utilize all the resources we 
have available to us to address this dangerous trend. My bill is 
intended to address this epidemic.
  This Congress we must focus on finding ways to address this culture 
of violence. I implore each of you to address gun safety, to limit 
access to certain types of guns, to support legislation that addresses 
bullying amongst our nation's children.
  This Congress we have the opportunity to take steps to address mental 
health, reasonable limitations on certain fire arms, and the growing 
epidemic of bullying. We must act and we must act now.