[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 87 (Tuesday, May 23, 2023)]
[House]
[Page H2511]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 HONORING THE FAMILIES OF UVALDE, TEXAS

  (Mr. CASTRO of Texas asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. CASTRO of Texas. Madam Speaker, I rise to honor the families of 
Uvalde, Texas. One year ago this week, 21 souls walked through the 
doors of their classrooms for the very last time.
  They were teachers, artists, athletes, aspiring police officers, and 
honor roll students. Hours later, they were dead, gunned down by a 
teenage shooter with weapons designed for the battlefield.
  At the morgue, their bodies were so ravaged they had to be identified 
through DNA testing.
  I have three children: 9, 7, and 1. When I drop my older children at 
school, I think of the families in Uvalde who never had a chance to say 
goodbye to theirs.
  Over the last year, those same families have held back tears in our 
committee rooms as they begged Congress to end America's gun violence 
epidemic.
  We know how to stop school shootings. We know that assault weapons 
bans, universal background checks, and a higher age for gun purchases 
will save American lives.
  The teachers and children who died cannot change the law, but we can 
honor their memories by having the courage to act.

                          ____________________