[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 5086]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  WHAT KIND OF COUNTRY ARE WE BECOMING

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Al Green) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, the Houston Chronicle reports 
today that a proud father announced over his Facebook page that his 
baby was born. The baby was born on April 14, 2012. The baby weighed 6 
pounds, 15 ounces, and was 20 inches long. He was a proud father 
announcing the arrival of his baby.
  I regret to say, Mr. Speaker, that the Chronicle goes on to report 
that yesterday the mother of this child, while taking the child in to 
receive medical attention, was killed. A proud father announces the 
arrival of his baby, and the mother is killed days later.
  What kind of country are we becoming? I don't know what the motive is 
for this, but I do know the results. I know that a baby will not have 
its natural mother there to care and to nurture. I know that the mother 
won't be there on the first day of school, won't be there to see the 
first step that the child will take. The mother won't be there to turn 
on the light and protect the child from the creatures of the night, to 
pitch the ball and catch the child after a fall. I don't know what the 
motive was, but I know that a mother won't be there when the child 
walks across the stage to graduate from high school, when the child is 
married, and the first child is born to the next generation. The mother 
won't be there.
  Regardless as to what the motive is, we must stop this senseless 
violence. I don't know what the race of the perpetrator was, but I do 
know that people of goodwill want to see this person prosecuted, and I 
want to see this person prosecuted to the fullest extent that the law 
permits. This senseless violence has to stop.
  Prosecution alone won't do it. I think we do have to say more and do 
more, and let the country know that this is not the America that we see 
in our future. We have got to condemn all of this senseless violence. 
This senseless violence goes beyond race. It goes beyond status. This 
senseless violence has to be denounced by every one of us, and every 
one of us tries to do it as regularly as we can. I just want to join 
the choir of people who are saying that we will not tolerate it, we 
demand prosecution, and we understand that we must end this 
foolishness. Because if we don't end it, it will be our end.

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