[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 129 (Wednesday, July 26, 2023)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E727]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    RECOGNIZING THE NEED FOR FEDERAL ACTION TO PREVENT GUN VIOLENCE

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                          HON. DANNY K. DAVIS

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 26, 2023

  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, a gun violence epidemic plagues 
the United States of America. Although the Bipartisan Safer Communities 
Act advanced important reforms to address gun violence--including 
enhanced background checks, prohibitions on gun trafficking and straw 
purchases, funding to support Extreme Risk Protection Orders and 
community-based violence intervention, and one billion dollars to 
support mental health--the federal government must take additional 
action to protect our young people and communities from gun violence.
  State and local laws can only do so much to curb gun violence. 
Illinois and the City of Chicago can implement strict gun regulations, 
but if states like Indiana and Wisconsin keep weak restrictions in 
place, then practically anyone can cross those state borders and 
acquire a gun. We must limit the number of guns that exist in our 
country. We must ban assault weapons and enact strong background checks 
with no loopholes. We must repeal immunity for firearm manufacturers so 
individuals can bring civil actions to hold these companies responsible 
for their role in the gun violence epidemic. We must pass my bill--the 
Ammunition Identification Act--that would provide law enforcement with 
the tools to trace ammunition back to its purchaser.
  Also, we must invest in community-based programs that successfully 
decrease gun violence. UCAN operates one of these innovative community-
based programs on the westside of Chicago in areas with high 
unemployment and poverty rates. The Violence Intervention and 
Prevention program intervenes with victims and perpetrators after gun 
violence to help address trauma and limit violent responses, leading to 
a 30 percent reduction in shootings where this program was implemented. 
Another program is Chicago CRED, or Create Real Economic Destiny, that 
believes that those involved in gun violence are not the problem, but 
the future solution. When participants join CRED, they receive 
counseling, life coaching, education, and a pathway to employment. A 
study by Northwestern University found that--although around 85 percent 
of CRED participants reported a familial history with gangs, many had a 
criminal record, and some reported being gunshot victims--CRED alumni 
were less likely to be victims of gun violence because they left 
vulnerable situations and entered stable lifestyles after receiving the 
care they needed.
  However, we cannot successfully prevent gun violence without revenue. 
That is why I champion the Gun Violence Prevention and Safe Communities 
Act that would create guaranteed, annual funding for gun violence 
prevention via a 0.5 percent increase in federal gun and ammunition 
excise taxes. This bill would evenly divide the estimated $20 to 36 
million of annual revenue to fund gun violence research, hate crime 
data collection and prevention, forensic examiner training to improve 
gun crime clearance rates, and community-based violence intervention 
and prevention programs. As Fredrick Douglass once said, ``People might 
not get all they work for in this world, but they certainly must work 
for all they get.'' If we truly want to make progress in preventing gun 
violence in this country, then we must work for it and invest in it.
  We also must remember that preventing gun violence is broader than 
simply gun-focused programs. People turn to gun violence when they lack 
economic security, food security, housing security, and educational 
opportunity. Under the Obama Administration, the Office of Civil Rights 
at the Department of Education had a goal of reducing gun violence at 
its source by creating a national tool to examine equity and 
educational opportunities across the country. This tool demonstrated 
that inequities from the start of an individual's life deeply affect 
their outcomes and that the school-to-prison pipeline in high-in-crime 
areas coincides with the quality of education. If we continue to 
neglect our citizens and allow disparities in opportunity and security, 
we will not successfully end gun violence.
  As my mother told me, an ounce of prevention is worth so much more 
than a pound of cure. I cannot stress enough how important it is to 
enact effective gun legislation on the federal level. Gun violence is a 
public health crisis. As such, the federal government must act to 
protect its citizens.

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