[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 82 (Friday, May 18, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E686-E687]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           SHARING STUDENTS' ``MARCH FOR OUR LIVES'' REMARKS

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                          HON. STENY H. HOYER

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                          Friday, May 18, 2018

  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, on May 9, I came to the Floor and spoke about 
the March For Our Lives on March 24 and the nine extraordinarily poised 
students in Morristown, New Jersey, who spoke at the rally there, which 
I attended. I included in the Record remarks by Nile Burch. I hope my 
colleagues will read them and internalize the sense of fear in which 
our nation's students are living every day--and our responsibility as 
Members of Congress to do something to address this crisis of gun 
violence.

                      March for Our Lives' Remarks

                            (By Nile Burch)

       Hello and good morning! My name is Nile Birch and I am from 
     Morristown High School.
       I would like to begin by thanking Ms. Bosrock for this 
     incredible opportunity. I appreciate all of her support and 
     help in making this possible. I am so proud to be 
     representing my African-American and social activism club, 
     Melanin Minds, at the march today. Melanin Minds consists of 
     a group of united and ethnically diverse individuals 
     dedicated towards raising awareness within our communities. 
     Encouraging change is exactly what our club is about, and I 
     am honored to speak to everyone today about the issue of gun 
     violence on behalf of our president, Bella Simon. So why 
     should I take such a vested interest in this issue?
       I can understand how it is a Constitutional right for 
     people to own guns. But, as we've all come to realize, there 
     is a lot of gray area in that. Nevertheless, that area should 
     never include questioning public safety. If people choose to 
     own guns, that is their prerogative, but in no way shape or 
     form should their interest threaten the lives of anyone or 
     anything else. Yet, the trouble I think we all experience is 
     that the current laws we haveare nowhere strict enough to 
     make people feel at ease. Then again, there is a fine line 
     between feeling `at ease' and feeling `safe.' We do not need 
     politicians to acknowledge what happened in past and recent 
     school shootings. We need them to look at Columbine, Sandy 
     Hook, Marjory Stoneman Douglas, and countless others as an 
     incentive to want to prevent more shootings from ever 
     happening again. In simpler terms, we need to emphasize that 
     it's okay to recognize what happened in the past as long as 
     we use those events to carve out a pathway towards our 
     future! To truly understand what it feels like to be safe, we 
     must first realize what it is like to live in fear. As an 
     African-American male, living in fear means wearing a hoodie 
     and being scared to walk to the store for some skittles or an 
     Arizona Iced Tea, or wanting to sell CDs. What I am saying is 
     that having this angst festering inside of me every day is my 
     reality, but it does not have to be yours too.
       School shootings? Children in school. A place where 
     students go to learn, make friends, and find themselves as 
     human beings. A place parents can drop their kids and feel 
     safe in knowing that their precious children are protected at 
     all costs. It isn't true. It doesn't exist. And that, my 
     friends, is the sad reality of today. Why we are here. Why we 
     care. We must stand together so that every single one of us 
     can feel safe. You guys might be wondering `what does he mean 
     by starting to make a difference, how can I, a high school 
     student, have any influence?' Let me tell you guys a brief 
     story to make it clearer.
       I remember being on the playground and looking up at those 
     tall monkey bars towering above the field. They seemed so big 
     and tall, like something incredible. Of course, to any seven-
     year-old, climbing it seems a feat worth trying. But, no 
     matter how hard I tried it was still physically impossible 
     for my short arms to reach the highest bar. I tell this story 
     because on this day, March 24, 2018, our end goal may seem 
     impossible to reach. It may seem so idealistic that we doubt 
     seeing such immense change within the course of our lifetime. 
     However, I am confident that meeting our goal can become a 
     reality by taking the right steps to get there. I didn't 
     finish my childhood story. As I started to climb the bars, I 
     had multiple encounters with failure and defeat by slipping 
     off of the handlebars. Enacting change to the issue of gun 
     violence is no different. We have and will continue to 
     encounter obstacles that will try to prevent us from 
     succeeding. In order to overcome these difficulties, it is 
     imperative that we lobby Congress to change the gun laws to 
     ensure that only those who are able to handle the 
     responsibility of owning a gun can do so. It is also 
     paramount that organizations such as the NRA accept the 
     consequences of prioritizing profit over life. I remain 
     optimistic that we'll be able to do this because, despite 
     having fallen multiple times on the wood chips, I persevered 
     and, yes, eventually reached the top. The feeling at the top 
     of those monkey bars was one I'll never forget. For a brief 
     moment in time I felt like the king of the world with nothing 
     to stop me. I made my way down, and yes, fell again, but this 
     time it was worth it. I have no doubt that this movement will 
     feel the same way when we make strides. The obstacles will 
     never truly go away, but we will enact laws, start protests 
     and incite conversations that will make these obstacles 
     irrelevant.
       Piece by piece we will inspire other students to gain the 
     courage to stand up for what they believe in. Piece by piece 
     we will show youth that they have a voice and that it does 
     matter. And piece by piece we will once again feel safe 
     enough to walk our school hallways without feeling as if that 
     is the last day we'll walk at all.

[[Page E687]]

       Contact our congressmen! These men are in the government 
     speaking for and representing you. Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen, 
     Rep. Leonard Lance, Sen. Cory Booker, and Sen. Robert 
     Menendez all need to hear from you about how we feel about 
     gun violence. If we want to save lives, it begins with 
     speaking with our powerful elected officials. You've already 
     climbed your first bar just by being here today. Hopefully 
     you've been listening, and hopefully you take the next step 
     to putting an end to gun violence! I am so impressed with the 
     numbers here today and I want you guys to keep fighting, and 
     keep climbing, because eventually, we willreach the top, 
     together! Thank you and have a good day!

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