[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 45 (Wednesday, March 14, 2018)]
[House]
[Page H1552]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
GUN VIOLENCE SURVIVORS HELP CHANGE THE DIRECTION OF OUR COUNTRY
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from
Florida (Mr. Deutch) for 5 minutes.
Mr. DEUTCH. Mr. Speaker, today marks 1 month since the shooting at
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida; 1 month
since we lost 14 students and 3 teachers in yet another senseless act
of gun violence; 1 month since the survivors inside those hallways have
seen their lives changed forever.
The survivors and the grieving families are not just grieving their
loss. They are helping to change the direction of this Congress and the
direction of this country.
Mr. Speaker, I am leaving from here to go join the thousands of
students who have descended upon the Capitol today, whose leadership
will help guide the direction of this country, and who understand that
1 month after the horrific shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High
School--1 month in--and this Congress has failed to act.
There are thousands out there today. There will be hundreds of
thousands and millions more in the weeks ahead.
The community that I represent, Mr. Speaker, will not be defined in
the future by the tragedy that happened at Marjory Stoneman Douglas
High School. It will be defined by the leadership of the student
survivors who are inspiring a nation and helping to take us to a place
where children can feel safe going to school in the morning and parents
can know that when they take their kids to school in the morning, they
will be able to pick them up safely at the end of the day.
That is the result of this tragedy. That is what this is going to
mean for our country. We are going to follow the lead of these student
leaders. They are an inspiration to us. They are an inspiration to all
of us, and I am off to join them now.
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