[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 75 (Wednesday, May 9, 2018)]
[House]
[Page H3839]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  MARCH FOR OUR LIVES STUDENT SPEECHES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Maryland (Mr. Hoyer).
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, on March 24, I was in Morristown, New Jersey, 
with former Assistant U.S. Attorney Mikie Sherrill, where we attended 
the March for Our Lives.
  The March for Our Lives was organized by students around the country 
to speak out against gun violence and call for action in Congress to 
strengthen our gun laws. This march came just days after a deadly 
shooting at Great Mills High School in St. Mary's County in my 
district, and it came in the wake of horrific incidents of mass gun 
violence at a school in Parkland, Florida, and at places of worship, 
entertainment, and even public streets across the country.
  Congress can and should act. Nine in ten Americans, 90 percent of our 
fellow citizens, believe we ought to do so. We have the ability right 
now to strengthen background checks and ban the kinds of assault 
weapons that make our communities unsafe.
  Law enforcement wants us to get this done. So do parents and so do 
teachers. In Morristown, we heard directly from students, nine of whom 
spoke at the march that Ms. Sherrill and I attended. I was moved by 
their words.
  Because they are too long to insert here together, Mr. Speaker, I 
will be submitting these students' speeches individually into the 
Congressional Record in the coming days. But today, let me just share 
with you some excerpts from each of them that capture the spirit of the 
march and the fears and hopes of these young Americans.
  One student, Bella Bhimani, summed it up very well, and she said 
this: ``All we want is to make the world safer, which is something, I 
think, everyone can agree on.'' Would that that were true, Mr. Speaker.
  Another, Caitlyn Dempsey, said this: ``We have been learning that 
actions speak louder than words since kindergarten. So we walked out. 
So we've written our Congressmen. So we planned this march.'' They took 
action.
  Senior Isabella Bosrock from West Morris Mendham High School 
lamented: ``It is horrible that as adolescents we have become used to 
the idea that gun violence is a method of dealing with our problems.''
  Another student, Mia Paone, a sophomore at Chatham High School, 
declared: ``I am not old enough to vote yet, but I am old enough to 
speak out against gun violence.'' She concluded: ``I will not be 
silent.''
  Nile Burch, a student at Morristown High School, shared his hope 
that: ``Piece by piece, we will inspire other students to gain the 
courage to stand up for what they believe in.'' What a lesson for all 
of us.
  Luna Aguilar declared: `` . . . we, the youth, the future of our 
country, are deciding--right here, right now--that our lives are worth 
more than the right to own an assault weapon.''
  One of the students, Benjamin Douglas, spoke about how he rides with 
Team 26, a group of cyclists who ride in memory of the victims of Sandy 
Hook Elementary School where so many children and teachers lost their 
lives. They stop along the way to raise awareness of gun violence.
  He said this: ``We must continue to organize these events and never 
stop making noise until''--until--``until our Representatives get it.''
  Raniya Madhi, a junior at Ridge High School, spoke about how many 
students now live in fear. How tragic. She told us this: ``Most of us 
are just teenagers. We should be worrying about doing well on our AP 
tests and finals at the end of the year, not about being shot 
by someone who can enter our school.'' What parent is not terrified at 
that possibility?

  Finally, Danilo Lopez, a junior at Dover High School, chose, instead 
of delivering remarks, simply to read aloud the names of the victims of 
the recent Parkland, Florida, shooting. When he concluded, he expressed 
what we are all feeling, by saying: ``Let us hope and pray that they 
are in a better place--and we will always remember.''
  Let me suggest, Mr. Speaker, remembering is not enough. Action is 
required. We stand on this floor and have a moment of silence for those 
we lost. We are sad for them, for their families, and, yes, for our 
country.
  A moment of silence is not enough. Action is required to ensure that 
future moments of silence will not be necessary. The nine student 
speakers in Morristown, Mr. Speaker, like those across the country that 
day, gave voice to the millions who are scared but determined to see 
things change.
  These speeches represent but a snapshot of what Americans heard on 
March 24 at the nationwide March for Our Lives. I hope my colleagues 
will read what these extraordinarily poised and thoughtful students had 
to say, and I hope we can listen to their fears and their hopes and 
come together to take action.
  That is what they want us to do. That is our responsibility. That is 
what we ought to do.

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