[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 68 (Thursday, April 26, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E550-E551]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       RECOGNIZING ALLIE INGALLS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. SANDER M. LEVIN

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 26, 2018

  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Allie Ingalls from 
Royal Oak High School. I met Allie last week at a rally in Royal Oak as 
part of the student led National School Walkout. Allie is a senior and 
one of the student leaders in her school and community. I was so 
impressed with her courage and the passion with which she delivered her 
remarks that I wanted to share her speech with my colleagues. 
Therefore, I include in the Record the remarks of Allie Ingalls:

       It is 5:30 AM. I have an hour before I need to wake up for 
     school. But instead of sleeping, my body is shaking and I am 
     sure I'm about to throw up. But this isn't new. I have had 
     this nightmare before. Always in the same place in the 
     hallway, leaving a class I'm not sure I even have. And I try 
     to run. But we all know you cannot outrun a bullet. Do not 
     tell me it is not about guns. Do not tell me it is not about 
     guns, when it is not a face I see in my nightmares, but a 
     trigger. Do not tell me it is not about guns, when middle 
     schoolers tell me they're afraid of high school because we 
     carry backpacks. Where a gun can be hidden. Our fears are not 
     unprecedented. Shootings that have occurred on school grounds 
     in 2018. Winston Salem, North Carolina. Italy, Texas. Benton, 
     Kentucky. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Los Angeles, 
     California. Oxon Hill, Maryland. Nashville, Tennessee. 
     Parkland, Florida. Savannah, Georgia. Itta Bena, Mississippi. 
     Norfolk, Virginia. Mount Pleasant, Michigan. Jackson, 
     Mississippi. Birmingham, Alabama. Mobile, Alabama. Seaside, 
     California. Lexington Park, Maryland.
       We are four months into 2018. The only thing this is about, 
     is guns.
       I do not want clear backpacks. I do not want my teachers to 
     carry a gun. I do not want bulletproof desks. I do not want 
     to be taught the difference between the sound a firework 
     makes, and the sound a gun makes. I want common sense gun 
     control. I want to go to school, without wearing a 
     bulletproof vest. I want Helena Ramsey in a classroom today. 
     I want Peter Wang in a classroom today. I want Luke Hoyer in 
     a classroom today. I want Charlotte Bacon to celebrate her 
     eleventh birthday. I want Noah Penzer to see his sister 
     again. I want Olivia Engel to go to dance class today. But 
     their voices have been silenced, the only thing our 
     politicians hear is the NRA. We live in a generation where a 
     dollar has more of a voice, than the 16 million people who 
     sit in a classroom. Today, I stand here for the 16 million 
     people who have been silenced by the adults who are in a 
     position to make change. Every single student in the United 
     States is my classmate. Every single teacher in the United 
     States is my teacher. In the wise words of Parkland survivor 
     Michelle Lapidot ``Was the blood of my classmates and 
     teachers worth your NRA blood money?''
       To the adults who have failed us, to the politicians who 
     have made it clear where their loyalty stands, to the Royal 
     Oak School Board, to the individuals who have called us 
     ``nitwits,'' among other names, I would like to personally 
     thank you. Thank you for empowering me. Thank you for proving 
     what we already knew, we are the change. We are the people 
     who will vote them out. We are the generation who will put 
     our children first. We are the generation on the right side 
     of history. You have all

[[Page E551]]

     proved that we live in a society where the adults are 
     compliant while the youth rise in resistance.
       To the adults who have stood up with us, to my teachers who 
     have encouraged me to use my strong voice, to Gabby, you have 
     helped create a generation that is unstoppable. You have 
     given us the tools to be louder than the NRA, you given us 
     the tools to be what this country needs.
       With that, to all my peers, WE ARE VICTIMS, WE ARE 
     STUDENTS, WE ARE CHANGE. Soon we will all be armed with 
     something much stronger than an AR-15: Our voter cards. Our 
     ballots are stronger than their bullets. To everyone 
     eligible, arm yourself today. Register to vote. To those who 
     are not, your voice is just as powerful, our politicians 
     represent all of us. Write your reps, call your reps, become 
     so persistent they know your name, write letters till your 
     fingers bleed. Our voices will no longer be silenced. Make 
     way for the youth. Because we're coming, and we will not be 
     quiet.

  Allie Ingalls is just one of the thousands of young people throughout 
my district and our country who have stood up and said ``Enough is 
Enough.'' Mr. Speaker, we must stand with these students and their 
allies who demand solutions to ending gun violence. We as leaders must 
do better by our young people. We as a Congress must act now.
  I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing Allie Ingalls. I wish 
her the best of luck in all her future endeavors and have no doubt we 
will be hearing more from her in the future.

                          ____________________