[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 139 (Wednesday, September 14, 2016)]
[House]
[Page H5447]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              GUN VIOLENCE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Speier) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, you probably haven't heard of Tamia Sanders. 
This young woman here was 14 years old. She was killed while sitting on 
her porch next to her mother on August 12 in Jacksonville. You probably 
didn't hear that Tamia was an honor student or that she had a beautiful 
smile. There were no moments of silence for Tamia on the House floor 
because she was just another little Black girl killed by street 
violence.
  You probably haven't heard about Willow. She was 2 years old. She and 
her mother, her 8-year-old sister Liana, and 6-year-old brother Mark, 
Jr., were killed. Willow was just 2 years old when her father killed 
her along with the rest of the family on August 6 in Sinking Spring, 
Pennsylvania. And you probably haven't heard that Willow had survived a 
heart transplant when she was 6 days old and that her mother fought 
hard to make sure Willow had enough medication.
  Willow didn't get a moment of silence on the House floor either 
because she was just another child killed by someone who was supposed 
to love her.
  You definitely didn't hear about the two people found dead in the 
house in Mead Valley, California, on August 5. No one published their 
names or their ages or whether anyone noticed they were dead.
  The same can be said for an unidentified woman killed on the street 
in Los Angeles on August 8, two unidentified men killed in a parking 
lot on August 13 in Milwaukee, and two unidentified women killed on the 
street on August 28 in St. Louis. They certainly didn't get a moment of 
silence on the House floor because they were just more anonymous 
victims of gun violence.
  There have been 322 mass shootings this year, more shootings than 
there have been days in the year so far; 416 people gunned down; 1,161 
people who have been injured. Yet we only tell their stories if the 
killing is particularly large, like the Pulse nightclub, or 
particularly terrifying and political, like the San Bernardino 
terrorist attacks.
  Daily mass shootings have somehow become commonplace, their victims 
nameless and mourned only by those who knew them. But I say that this 
is a national tragedy, and we should all mourn.
  We should grieve for Antonio Hinkle, who was 32 when he was killed at 
a cookout on August 27 in Brighton, Alabama. He died pushing children 
out of the way of gunfire, and he left behind three children of his 
own.
  We should grieve for Isaiah Solomon, 15, and Tafari West, 22, who 
were killed when someone opened fire on a vigil for another dead 
teenager on August 27 in Miami, Florida.
  We should grieve for Shannon Randall, 35; her boyfriend, Joseph 
Turner, 27; her brother, Robert Brown, 26; and their relatives Justin 
Reed, 23, and Chelsea Reed, 22, who were killed in their sleep by a 
friend's boyfriend on August 20 in Citronelle, Alabama. They were 
sheltering their friend who had fled an abusive relationship. Chelsea 
was 5 months pregnant when she and the others were gunned down.
  These are the people who don't make the national news: the girl 
walking to her neighborhood convenience store, the boy playing on the 
front lawn, the woman trying to leave an abusive relationship, the 
grandfather sitting on his porch. They were robbed of life because this 
Congress refuses to act.
  Colleagues, we must honor them by speaking out. Now is the time for a 
vote. Let's lift the ban on research on gun violence. Let's expand 
background checks to all gun purchases. Let's close loopholes that let 
known and suspected terrorists buy guns. Let's commit resources to make 
smart guns that are less dangerous to children who find them.
  A little girl was killed while sitting on her porch right next to her 
mother. Say her name, Tamia Sanders, and honor her memory with more 
than a moment of silence.

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