[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 17 (Tuesday, February 5, 2013)]
[House]
[Page H353]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              GUN VIOLENCE

  (Ms. CLARKE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. CLARKE. Mr. Speaker, Monday, November 26, 2012, is a great day 
for the residents of my town. New York City went 24 hours without a 
single person being injured or killed by gun violence. That day, the 
Brownsville section of Brooklyn within my district, which has 
experienced more shooting victims last year than any other part of the 
city, saw a most-needed reprieve from the violence it experiences on a 
daily basis.
  Mr. Speaker, women and children are gunned down every day in urban 
communities across the country by illegal handgun violence. In fact, on 
average, more than 100,000 people in the United States are shot and 
killed with a gun annually. This is endemic in communities of color 
where illegal handgun violence has become a very serious public health 
issue. These numbers are unacceptable, especially in a State and city 
with some of the strictest gun laws in the Nation.
  Lastly, gun violence is not an inevitable problem, yet it continues 
to plague our communities. We owe it to the people we represent and to 
future generations to act with urgency and conviction to put an end to 
this senseless pattern of gun violence.

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