Gun Violence in Chicago

Floor Speech

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Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, over last Father's Day weekend, 13 people were killed with guns in Chicago, my hometown. Another 46 were injured.

One of those critically injured was 3-year-old Devon Quinn. Devon and his father were sitting in their green van when someone pulled up and started firing shots into a crowd of people. Devon was hit in the right shoulder by a bullet as he sat in his car. He was not the target, and he was another innocent victim in a terrible year of gun violence.

A 17-year-old boy was walking down 46th Street, and he was mowed down by an assault weapon.

According to the Chicago Tribune, about 1,800 people have been shot in Chicago this year. Over 200 of them have died from guns. When shootings becomes so commonplace, we risk forgetting how traumatic each one is for the people involved.

I recently received a letter from Kiara, a high school senior in my district, and she wrote:

Talking on the phone with a good friend a few nights ago, I heard the disturbing noise of gunshots. Feelings of fear overwhelmed me as my friend was talking as he was walking home from the train station after a long day at work.

Almost immediately, communication broke. I called back over and over again with no response. I was on the verge of a meltdown, thinking of what could have happened to him.

After what seemed like the longest 10 minutes of my life, I received a text letting me know that he was okay but needed to call 911, as someone had been shot by a drive-by shooting.

I sat there, frozen. What could I do? Then, thoughts of hopelessness and sadness took hold over me, and I thought about the family of this poor, innocent person who was just shot and how terrible that phone call must have been from the hospital.

I understand the need for guns and the role they play in protection in times of war and so on. But what I don't understand is the internal debate and menace within the United States over the use and misuse of weapons.

Too often, we forget the names of victims and the pain of their loved ones, as Congress continues to do nothing to stop the violence. Most don't even get that empty gesture of a moment of silence, and, even so, we have done 27 moments of silence since Sandy Hook.

How numb have we become to everyday violence that we only stop for that lone minute to recognize the most horrific shootings? Forty-nine victims in Orlando, schoolchildren in Newtown, churchgoers murdered in Charleston.

Just during the Senate filibuster on gun violence last week, 48 people were shot. As the mass shootings get worse and worse, we can't let these daily shootings fade into the background of America.

I know that my constituents feel frustrated and ignored when Congress responds to each of these tragedies with inaction. Angela wrote to me from the Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago, where I grew up:

I am writing to you as a frustrated and saddened constituent who is tired of watching innocent people die because the NRA holds our Congresspeople hostage.

I am begging you, on behalf of our students, teachers, police, LGBT, and every innocent person who has been affected by senseless gun violence, to please use this moment to enact meaningful gun control in our country.

We have had decades of complacency from our government on this issue. It is no longer excusable, particularly for someone representing Chicago. You know where these legally purchased guns end up and that hundreds of our children and families pay the price for what selfish maniacs claim is their personal freedom.

And I have many more letters like those calling on those of us in Congress to do our job and reduce gun violence in our country. Neighbors ask me for action at the grocery store and at the gym and as I boarded the plane yesterday.

We can start by enacting two gun safety proposals that are overwhelmingly supported among our constituents, all of our constituents.

Close the terrorist loophole. If you are too dangerous to fly on an airplane, you should not be able to buy a gun. People can't even believe that that isn't the law already.

We need universal background checks. Forty percent of those guns used in violence in Chicago are bought legally at Indiana gun shows, where there are no background checks.

These proposals won't stop every single gun death, but we know that they will stop some. And, yes, there are a lot of other things we could do too.

I call on Speaker Ryan, along with my colleagues, to bring these bills to the floor before we break. Americans are calling for action on gun violence. They are tired of being ignored. No bill, no break.

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