[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 171 (Thursday, September 30, 2021)]
[House]
[Page H5558]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               HONORING LIVES LOST TO SENSELESS VIOLENCE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. Bowman) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BOWMAN. Madam Speaker, I rise to honor the lives of those lost 
due to senseless violence in my district:
  Leon Wayne, age 26, gun violence.
  Chevor Williams, age 28, gun violence.
  Cori Lowe, age 31, stabbing victim.
  Richard Black, age 39, gun violence.
  Joseph Ramirez, age 43, gun violence.
  Wray Harding, age 55, gun violence.
  Aliyah Waiters, gun violence.
  Marilyn Cotto Montanez, age 18, gun violence.
  Guy Vanlew, Jr., age 18, gun violence.
  Jeremy Logan, age 32, gun violence.
  Omari Ellis, age 18, gun violence.
  Warren Clahar, age 35, gun violence.
  Olivia Green, age 15, fentanyl overdose.
  Madam Speaker, I ask that we observe a moment of silence for the 
lives lost in my district due to senseless violence.
  Thank you, Madam Speaker.
  Madam Speaker, the pandemic of senseless violence is not new. If you 
live in a poverty-stricken community and if you are Black or Latino in 
these communities, you are more susceptible to acts of senseless 
violence.
  When I was in high school, trying to just be a good student and play 
on the football team, I ended up caught up in a situation where I was 
almost shot and killed. A few months later, at a party with some 
friends, just trying to go out and have a good time, I ended up in a 
situation where I was almost shot and killed.
  If it weren't for sheer luck, I would not be standing here as a 
Member of Congress today.
  Thankfully, at that time, I was able to move out of my community and 
move to a suburban community where it was much less likely for me to 
end up in a situation where I could be shot and killed.
  I have so many friends and family members who did not have the luxury 
of moving out and the privilege of moving out of their community. As a 
result, they ended up dead at some very young ages, some 18, some 21, 
some even younger.
  Oftentimes, when we have these conversations, we point to the 
perpetrators of these acts of violence and of these crimes and we 
identify them as bad individuals and we say that we need law 
enforcement to respond to remove those bad individuals from these 
situations, and we think that that method is enough to end the violence 
in these communities.
  But we have invested in law enforcement for decades; the 1994 crime 
bill being one example of how we have made such investments and 
targeted highly violent communities. But the violence hasn't gone away, 
and the violence has only been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic 
that has isolated many and has also created a mental health crisis.
  So I ask and I beg this Chamber to recognize that this is not just 
about individual bad actors in communities. Poverty is a policy choice, 
and the trauma related to poverty and the lack of opportunity in so 
many of our communities will continue to lead to increases in violence 
that we see in poverty-stricken communities.

                              {time}  1030

  We have to invest in education, healthcare, jobs, housing, 
mentorship, and so many other programs that could literally save the 
lives of our children before they ever decide to pick up a gun.
  Lastly, and very quickly, we passed H.R. 8, commonsense gun reform 
legislation, in the House this year, and the Senate still has not acted 
on that legislation. Seventy percent of the incidents of gun violence 
that take place in New York are done with guns that come from outside 
of New York. So we have to move this gun legislation in the Senate.

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