GUN VIOLENCE AWARENESS MONTH

On 2026-06-23, Representative Jennifer L. McClellan (D-VA-4) delivered a floor speech titled "GUN VIOLENCE AWARENESS MONTH" in the House.

GUN VIOLENCE AWARENESS MONTH

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 105 (Tuesday, June 23, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 105 (Tuesday, June 23, 2026)] [House] [Pages H4195-H4200] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] GUN VIOLENCE AWARENESS MONTH (Under the Speaker's announced policy of January 3, 2025, Ms. McClellan of Virginia was recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader.) General Leave Ms. McCLELLAN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the subject of this Special Order. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentlewoman from Virginia? There was no objection. Ms. McCLELLAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to anchor this Congressional Black Caucus Special Order hour to speak directly to the American people about Gun Violence Awareness Month. We are here to address the public health crisis facing not only the constituents of the Congressional Black Caucus but all Americans. Gun violence is an everyday reality that robs loved ones, erodes our sense of security, and shortens too many bright futures. Every year, roughly 44,000 people in the United States die of gun- related injuries. In 2023, the most recent year for which the CDC provided complete data, 46,728 people died from gun-related injuries. Black men ages 15 to 34 are most at risk, with firearm homicide rates at 22.6 per 100,000. White males, particularly those who are 65 and older, have been disproportionately impacted by firearm suicides at a rate of 17.8 per 100,000. In my own State of Virginia, gun violence kills over 1,200 people and wounds over 1,600 people. Suicides are 66 percent of those deaths. In Richmond alone, where I live, 221 people were shot in 2025. While that number is the lowest on record since 2015, it is still too high. These statistics are jarring, but they are more than just statistics. Each number is a personal tragedy--mothers, fathers, sons and daughters, friends, and loved ones whose lives were cut short due to gun violence, like 23-year-old Genesis Jones of Petersburg, Virginia, who was killed while celebrating her brother's 25th birthday when a large altercation in the area led to gunfire that killed her and 42- year-old Dominic Antoine Jackson. They died because too many people resort to gun violence to resolve what was once done by fists. Barbie Perez, 28 years old, was shot multiple times by the father of her child during an argument. He reportedly pushed Perez, and then the argument moved outside. He went to his car and then came back, pulled out a shotgun, and shot Perez in the leg and chest. Perez' mother saw him press the gun against her back and fire more rounds before putting the car in reverse and leaving the neighborhood. Sierra Jenkins, a 25-year-old journalist at the Virginian-Pilot and Daily Press, was one of three people killed and five people shot in a shooting in downtown Norfolk after an argument broke out. Increasingly, gun violence takes our children, becoming the number one cause of death for teens and children, like Zion Terry, the 18- year-old John Marshall student just weeks away from graduating, and his 14-year-old sister from Henderson Middle School, Sadie Terry, both killed by Sadie's father in a fit of rage. Marquan Mitchell-Nash, my son's classmate, 1 week after I stood on this floor and took my oath of office, was killed accidentally by a gun he and his friends were using as a prop while filming a music video. Shawn Jackson, an 18-year-old Huguenot High School student, and his stepfather, Lorenzo Smith, were killed moments after Shawn received his high school diploma because of a beef that started on Instagram and ended at that ceremony. Samiyah ``Mimy'' Yellardy, a 17-year-old George Wythe High School student, was shot and killed in her own home on early Sunday morning during spring break. McKenna Young, an 11-year-old, and 1-year-old Landrie Harris were both found with apparent gunshot wounds inside their Memphis home, where their mother was found with stab wounds. These deaths impact families, but they impact entire communities. We cannot allow this violence to become normalized. We must stand together to advance commonsense gun safety legislation, invest in gun community violence intervention programs, and address the root causes that perpetrate this cycle of harm. Year after year, we go back to our districts, and we talk to community leaders, faith leaders, and families about the real threats that they face. The overwhelming consensus is that Congress must pass comprehensive, [[Page H4196]] commonsense gun safety legislation if things are ever going to get better, because standing in the well for a moment of silence and thoughts and prayers after each death is not enough. As a State legislator, I was proud to take action to address this crisis, championing investment in the Firearm Violence and Intervention and Prevention Fund, which provided a pathway to research, demographics, and trends and implemented evidence-based solutions to address the root causes of gun violence, because those causes in the city of Richmond may be different than in Chesterfield, Norfolk, Roanoke, or anywhere else. I led the senate to pass a bill to establish a center that takes a comprehensive approach by empowering communities to address those root causes in all its forms, and now I am working at the Federal level. We had a similar program that the White House set up under the Biden- Harris administration to work with communities to address the root causes of gun violence in those communities through evidence-based research. Now, it is gone. I don't even know if the CDC is still tracking the data necessary on these deaths, but as a member of the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force and as a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, I am committed to keeping our communities safe with these commonsense gun reform policies like universal background checks and gun trace data. Yet, the majority has failed to bring a single piece of gun violence legislation to the floor for a vote this Congress, even when there is bipartisan support for investing and addressing root causes of gun violence. {time} 1950 We are working against the backdrop of an administration whose Federal funding cuts actively prevent us from doing our jobs to reduce such violence. Last year, the Trump administration terminated nearly 400 grants from the Department of Justice's Office of Justice Programs, which provided supported for everything from victim services to substance use and mental health treatment to juvenile justice and child protection. These grants were initially valued at $820 million over multiple years. And when the administration rescinded the remaining balances for these awards, they cost our communities an additional $500 million and more lives. The Trump administration then made deep cuts to OJP's Community Violence Intervention and Prevention Initiative, the largest source of Federal funding for community violence intervention, even though it is popular on a bipartisan basis. This funding was authorized by Congress and the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act of 2022. Since then, over $300 million was invested in addressing community violence intervention programming and research. Now, half of those investments have been cut. The President's latest budget cuts more than $500 million in funding to the DOJ's State and local grant programs, including restorative justice programs, community-based approaches to advancing justice, including zeroing out the community violence intervention programs. These programs are necessarily vital if we are going to intervene in the public health crisis of gun violence. The Trump administration has also moved to rapidly and effectively reshape American gun policies, loosening restrictions, and putting more lives in danger. This past April, ATF released 34 proposed and final rules that would severely deregulate the firearm industry. Last year's, you call it the big, beautiful bill, I call it the big ugly law, removed the $200 silencer suppressor tax even though silencers and suppressors were outlawed decades ago on a bipartisan basis. All this does is invite tragedy back into our communities. Again, we cannot allow violence to become normalized and an acceptable part of our daily lives. So I call on my colleagues to let this June, this Gun Violence Prevention Month, serve not only as a moment of awareness but a call to action to pass meaningful reform that will save lives, support survivors, and build safer communities for the next generation. I thank each of my colleagues who will speak tonight. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Illinois' Second District (Ms. Kelly). Ms. KELLY of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I thank the Congresswoman for convening us tonight on this extremely important topic. Mr. Speaker, I rise today because, as we all know, there is a gun violence epidemic in our country. It is a public health crisis. Yet, our President is actively making this crisis worse. I don't know if the Congresswoman realized this, but 10 years ago yesterday, Katherine Clark, the late, great John Lewis, John Larson, David Cicilline, and myself led the sit-in on the floor because we could not get any movement to deal with gun violence prevention. I am proud to say the Democrats all participated in that sit-in that lasted almost 24 hours. Nothing happened right away, but we were making a statement that needed to be made, and, eventually, we did get a Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. But we all know more needs to be done. This past Juneteenth weekend, nearly 40 people were shot in Chicago, and 7 people died. What should have been a celebration of freedom turned into a horrific reminder that we are not free from gun violence. President Trump responded on Truth Social by claiming that he can make Chicago a safe c