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CONGRESSWOMAN SHEILA JACKSON LEE CALLS GUN VIOLENCE AN EPIDEMIC AND SITS WITH TEACHERS AND STUDENTS TO DISCUSS GUN FREE AND SAFE SCHOOLS

April 8, 2013

Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee released the following statement after meeting with Teachers and Students at Konia Community Learning Academy Center to discuss gun free and safe schools:

“I want to thank the teachers and students of Konia Community Learning Academy Center who joined me today to discuss gun free and safe schools during our Round Table discussion today. Their participation today was appreciated and I look forward to taking the insight I gained today back to Washington to effectively address gun violence and the youth violence epidemic. As Chair of the Congressional Children’s Caucus, I have worked for many years to address the exposure of our children to the scourge of violence, which impacts our youth and brings tears to the eyes of parents far too often. The issue of violence in our schools is certainly at the forefront of our minds given the tragic events at Newtown in which we lost 20 children and 6 adults at Sandy Hook Elementary; our hearts still ache with sadness and disbelief for the families and loved ones of the children and women who lost their lives in this senseless act of violence.

“It is imperative that we come together in strong support of a broad and comprehensive strategy to address the causes and effects of youth violence. Weighing heavily on our conscience is the fact that an estimated 46 million children in our country are exposed to violence each year through crime, abuse and trauma. The gravity of our current situation cannot be overstated. Today, homicide is the 2nd leading cause of death for young people ages 15 to 24 years old. What is further disturbing is the fact that homicide is the leading cause of death for African Americans between ages 10 and 24, and the second leading cause of death for Hispanic Americans.

“Firearms-related deaths cost the U.S. health care system and economy $37 billion in 2005, the most recent year for which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention attempted an estimate. The cost of those who survive gun violence came to another $3.7 billion that year, according to the CDC.”

“It is shocking and simply unacceptable that we live in a society in which an average of 13 young people from ages 10-24 become victims of homicide every day. We know the leading weapon of choice used to kill those victims: 82.8% of those youths were killed with a firearm. Many guns are in the wrong hands, and end up being the highly efficient tools of criminals and mass murderers.

“Every 30 minutes, a child or teenager in America is injured by a gun. Every 3 hours and 15 minutes, a child or teenager loses their life to a firearm. In 2010, 82 children under 5 years of age lost their lives due to guns. To put that number in perspective, 58 law enforcement officers died in the line of duty that year. While preventing the deaths of so many young people should be our highest priority, we also need to address the broader culture of violence that pervades our society.

“In 2011, over 707,000 young people, aged 10 to 24 years, had to be rushed to the emergency room as a result of physical assault injuries. We collectively fail our children when we fail to teach them to resolve their problems in a nonviolent manner, and when we cannot provide a secure environment in which they can learn, socialize and develop. Reversing the disturbing trends of youth violence is going to take the concerted, sustained effort, collaboration and leadership of Members of Congress, the President, school boards and officials, local governments and law enforcement, and parents across this nation.

“I commend the President for convening a Gun Violence Task Force, and Vice President Biden for his outstanding leadership. The President and Vice President have developed and issued policy recommendations, and as Members of Congress, we need to act. We must take on this challenge with the recognition that changing the pervasive culture of violence will not happen overnight. While we can act now and pass legislation to ameliorate some of causes of the youth violence epidemic, this problem is larger than our laws. That is why we must make an enduring commitment to our youth. We must work tirelessly to create an environment in this country that lifts the psychological burden of violence off the shoulders of our kids.”