Brandon Wingo 15 Brandon Wingo 15
Tanisha
Cephas 16 – Sean banner six years old
Paris Henry 14 years old these are some
of the names of children in the city of
Wilmington Delaware who have been shot
or killed within the past few years
between September 2015 in January 2017
over 60 children have been shot or
killed in the city of Wilmington
Delaware five have died Wilmington
Delaware has a highest rate of juvenile
gun violence in the United States not
the one of the highest not in the top
ten but the highest rate of juvenile gun
violence in this country this is a city
that unfortunately has the dubious name
of being called murder town USA by the
national media it’s a city on the east
coast of the United States that sits
halfway between New York City and
Washington DC when we talk about gun
violence and reform we always get pushed
back you get the the same phrases time
and time again what we have to respect
the Second Amendment the Constitution
gives the right to keep and bear arms or
it’s an election year maybe next year
it’s the same answers time and time
again but the unfortunate truth is that
America has a gun violence problem
America is 5% of the world’s population
but yet 31 percent of the world’s mass
shootings occur in the United States
comparatively other developed countries
have had zero mass shootings in that
time frame if you look at countries like
the United States in the United Kingdom
Canada and also Australia these are
developed nations that have stepped up
in the face of tragedy
and implement a comprehensive gun safety
reform over the past few decades best
example of this is Australia Australia
once was a society built off of a gun
culture it’s a frontier country that
prided itself on being tough and guns
similar to America but in 1996 Australia
suffered the port author massacre which
was the most tragic incident in the
country’s history over thirty five were
killed and over 23 wounded in this
massacre immediately leaders in
Australia stepped up and implemented
comprehensive and sweeping gun safety
reforms they no longer allowed handguns
to be the carry publicly they had to be
locked away in a safe boxes and handguns
if you were allowed to have them you
could only really use them if you were
military a law enforcement personnel no
longer were you allowed to have
high-capacity magazines and assault
weapons these were reforms that were
implemented not over a course of decades
but within five years of this massacre
and now it is one of the safest
developed countries in terms of gun
violence so it can be done America
unfortunately has suffered so many
horrific incidents over the past few
decades the names become household names
Santa Fe Charleston Sandy Hook parkland
Aurora Colorado Collin Bond High School
the names keep ticking off time and time
again we think we’ve seen the worst but
then something else happens so we have a
gun crisis and unfortunate circumstances
we can’t even research how this crisis
affects our country because in 1996 we
had a federal ban on research on gun
violence something called the Dickey
amendment was
but sponsored by the National Rifle
Association it prevented frederik
agencies such as the Centers for Disease
Control to actually look at the
intersection between gun violence and
public health so we know we have a
problem for week eight even research how
it affects our communities and the worst
part is we have communities have been
ravaged for decades and decades and
decades in which we don’t have an urgent
response could you imagine if there was
a public health epidemic such as Ebola
or even recently in the news we have
ecoli could you imagine if this epidemic
killed over 37,000 Americans per year
and there was no federal response could
you imagine if Ebola was allowed to
outbreak and you couldn’t give emergency
funds to local jurisdictions could you
imagine if this outbreak the same
outbreak cannot be researched at a
federal level in all emergency responses
being fed to stem this response well
this is exactly what is happening in
America due to the gun epidemic so what
do we do and how do we get here because
we have a response after the shootings
to bam bump stocks or limit
high-capacity magazines or limit assault
weapons it’s always the same response
time and time again this is what you
hear from lawmakers on the local and
federal level every time there’s a
shooting but what about the violence
that occurs in our everyday communities
communities such as Wilmington Delaware
where a child is likely to get killed
more likely to get killed in Wilmington
than anywhere else in the world
what about communities like like where
we are now well we have to step up and
implement different kind of reforms the
condom reforms that stem urban violence
are prevention and intervention programs
programs such as Philadelphia’s
ceasefire program or Boston gun project
or Richmond California’s pay for peace
program
these programs feed neighborhoods by
implementing resources in stabilizing
neighborhoods because in these
communities such as Wilmington Delaware
we have concentrations of high poverty
failing education system crumbling
infrastructure and lack of health care
these are feeding the violence in
addition to unfettered access to guns so
we can step up and implement reforms
let’s come – today we’re in Wilmington
Delaware it’s a hot summer afternoon
when her west side of the city it’s
forced in Delaware Street we have a
young gentleman his name is Marquis he’s
18 years old he dropped out of high
school last year in order for him him to
go out and make some extra money by you
know hustling in the streets doing odd
jobs he’s surviving he’s out there with
a bunch of his neighborhood buddies they
call themselves a crew also out there is
Marquesas 14 year old brother tarik he’s
out there enjoys following his brother
enjoys and looks up to his brother
always he wants to be his brother one
day and everyone’s just relaxing and I
was the corner down 4th Street comes a
dirty white SUV a Glock 45 weapon points
out a window and began spraying the
Tyreke Marquis and the crowd of friends
outside the corner store everyone
scatters they duck Marquis looks up he’s
not hit he’s not bleeding it seems to be
okay but then he looks at tarik tarik is
bleeding laying on the ground in a rush
panic
someone calls 9 1 1 an ambulance comes
within a few minutes and at that moment
Marquis really believes his brother
tarik will die they rushed to Christian
a hospital which is in Newark Delaware a
town just outside of Wilmington and they
rushed to the trauma center
Marquis and
that moment only thing he can think
about besides his brother Tyriq
surviving is getting revenge because he
knows who shot at him and his friends it
was a rival neighborhood gang from
across town on the east side so after a
while once Tyreke was stabilized but
still fighting for his life marquise
goes and plots revenge him and his
buddies plan to go to the basketball
courts that same evening and spray a
crowd of innocent victims so not only
would Tariq possibly be going but then
Marquis would be possibly serving a life
sentence or death penalty and also we
have the lives of many innocent victims
ruined at the basketball game but what
about if there was a counselor named
Steve Steve is an ex-gang member who’s
from that same neighborhood Steve knows
what exactly it is that Marquis is going
through he’s lost many loved ones to
gang violence and he’s a trained
counselor what about a Steve met Marquis
at Christiana Hospital and he was able
to be there half an hour after the
family arrived what about if Steve was
able to counsel Marquis and mediate the
violence and talk to his friends and
tell them to just chill out cool out for
a few minutes while they think about the
consequences of violence what about if
Steve also not only helped resolve the
conflict but also could help Marquis get
back into school through several
meetings they had a week later what
about if Steve could help Marquis not
only get his GED but go to college what
about if Steve was able to not only help
Marquis succeed in school but also get
him into a paid job training program
well this are the type of programs that
we need in our urban centers these that
are type of programs that are severely
underfunded at the state and local
federal level these
intervention programs are what saves
lives so yes we do have a gun violence
problem in this country we have the
Second Amendment there are but there are
weapons allowed to you know be part of
our everyday culture we are allowed to
keep in bear arms but we cannot let the
27 words contain in the Second Amendment
define who we are as Delawareans and
Americans we need to invest in other
methods banning bump stocks banning
assault weapons in making other reforms
that we always hear about helps but it
does not solve the crisis of the
systemic violence in our urban centers
so what we need to do we have to step up
today we have to challenge ourselves and
then the first step to challenging
ourselves is to vote we’ve heard a lot
about elections within these past few
years but it’s even more critical now
than ever we have to vote if you’re over
18 and if you’re under 18 you have to
encourage your family friends and family
members everyone to gut out and vote
push on social media and the need to
vote and you have to put lawmakers in to
office who care about pushing gun safety
reforms care about funding intervention
programs care about rebuilding our
neighborhoods step 2 we really have to
invest and join local and national
grassroots movements we have local
organizations in Delaware organizations
such as the coalition to prevent gun
violence also groups like 302 guns down
but on the national level you can join
every town for gun safety or moms demand
action or the Gabby Giffords Center in
which I have worked as a legislative and
policy attorney work with their teams on
solving the crisis in Wilmington these
that are solutions these are things you
can do today you all have smart phones
you can sign up today for their email
lists and a third thing you can do is
organize organize organize some of the
biggest movements in world’s history
were organized by grassroots
organizations by youth in the civil
rights era we had landmark legislation
in 1960s Voting Rights Act in is in a
civil rights act that were mostly led by
students yet organization such as a
Student Nonviolent Coordinating
Committee or snick led by young leaders
like Julian Bond Stokely Carmichael and
now Congressman John Lewis so the youth
are leading the way and there’s no more
evident than a March for our lives
movement we have today so we have to
challenge ourselves as Nelson Mandela
once said action without vision is only
passing time vision without action is
merely daydreaming but action with
vision can change the world let’s change
the world and step up and fight gun
violence [Applause]
Tanisha
Cephas 16 – Sean banner six years old
Paris Henry 14 years old these are some
of the names of children in the city of
Wilmington Delaware who have been shot
or killed within the past few years
between September 2015 in January 2017
over 60 children have been shot or
killed in the city of Wilmington
Delaware five have died Wilmington
Delaware has a highest rate of juvenile
gun violence in the United States not
the one of the highest not in the top
ten but the highest rate of juvenile gun
violence in this country this is a city
that unfortunately has the dubious name
of being called murder town USA by the
national media it’s a city on the east
coast of the United States that sits
halfway between New York City and
Washington DC when we talk about gun
violence and reform we always get pushed
back you get the the same phrases time
and time again what we have to respect
the Second Amendment the Constitution
gives the right to keep and bear arms or
it’s an election year maybe next year
it’s the same answers time and time
again but the unfortunate truth is that
America has a gun violence problem
America is 5% of the world’s population
but yet 31 percent of the world’s mass
shootings occur in the United States
comparatively other developed countries
have had zero mass shootings in that
time frame if you look at countries like
the United States in the United Kingdom
Canada and also Australia these are
developed nations that have stepped up
in the face of tragedy
and implement a comprehensive gun safety
reform over the past few decades best
example of this is Australia Australia
once was a society built off of a gun
culture it’s a frontier country that
prided itself on being tough and guns
similar to America but in 1996 Australia
suffered the port author massacre which
was the most tragic incident in the
country’s history over thirty five were
killed and over 23 wounded in this
massacre immediately leaders in
Australia stepped up and implemented
comprehensive and sweeping gun safety
reforms they no longer allowed handguns
to be the carry publicly they had to be
locked away in a safe boxes and handguns
if you were allowed to have them you
could only really use them if you were
military a law enforcement personnel no
longer were you allowed to have
high-capacity magazines and assault
weapons these were reforms that were
implemented not over a course of decades
but within five years of this massacre
and now it is one of the safest
developed countries in terms of gun
violence so it can be done America
unfortunately has suffered so many
horrific incidents over the past few
decades the names become household names
Santa Fe Charleston Sandy Hook parkland
Aurora Colorado Collin Bond High School
the names keep ticking off time and time
again we think we’ve seen the worst but
then something else happens so we have a
gun crisis and unfortunate circumstances
we can’t even research how this crisis
affects our country because in 1996 we
had a federal ban on research on gun
violence something called the Dickey
amendment was
but sponsored by the National Rifle
Association it prevented frederik
agencies such as the Centers for Disease
Control to actually look at the
intersection between gun violence and
public health so we know we have a
problem for week eight even research how
it affects our communities and the worst
part is we have communities have been
ravaged for decades and decades and
decades in which we don’t have an urgent
response could you imagine if there was
a public health epidemic such as Ebola
or even recently in the news we have
ecoli could you imagine if this epidemic
killed over 37,000 Americans per year
and there was no federal response could
you imagine if Ebola was allowed to
outbreak and you couldn’t give emergency
funds to local jurisdictions could you
imagine if this outbreak the same
outbreak cannot be researched at a
federal level in all emergency responses
being fed to stem this response well
this is exactly what is happening in
America due to the gun epidemic so what
do we do and how do we get here because
we have a response after the shootings
to bam bump stocks or limit
high-capacity magazines or limit assault
weapons it’s always the same response
time and time again this is what you
hear from lawmakers on the local and
federal level every time there’s a
shooting but what about the violence
that occurs in our everyday communities
communities such as Wilmington Delaware
where a child is likely to get killed
more likely to get killed in Wilmington
than anywhere else in the world
what about communities like like where
we are now well we have to step up and
implement different kind of reforms the
condom reforms that stem urban violence
are prevention and intervention programs
programs such as Philadelphia’s
ceasefire program or Boston gun project
or Richmond California’s pay for peace
program
these programs feed neighborhoods by
implementing resources in stabilizing
neighborhoods because in these
communities such as Wilmington Delaware
we have concentrations of high poverty
failing education system crumbling
infrastructure and lack of health care
these are feeding the violence in
addition to unfettered access to guns so
we can step up and implement reforms
let’s come – today we’re in Wilmington
Delaware it’s a hot summer afternoon
when her west side of the city it’s
forced in Delaware Street we have a
young gentleman his name is Marquis he’s
18 years old he dropped out of high
school last year in order for him him to
go out and make some extra money by you
know hustling in the streets doing odd
jobs he’s surviving he’s out there with
a bunch of his neighborhood buddies they
call themselves a crew also out there is
Marquesas 14 year old brother tarik he’s
out there enjoys following his brother
enjoys and looks up to his brother
always he wants to be his brother one
day and everyone’s just relaxing and I
was the corner down 4th Street comes a
dirty white SUV a Glock 45 weapon points
out a window and began spraying the
Tyreke Marquis and the crowd of friends
outside the corner store everyone
scatters they duck Marquis looks up he’s
not hit he’s not bleeding it seems to be
okay but then he looks at tarik tarik is
bleeding laying on the ground in a rush
panic
someone calls 9 1 1 an ambulance comes
within a few minutes and at that moment
Marquis really believes his brother
tarik will die they rushed to Christian
a hospital which is in Newark Delaware a
town just outside of Wilmington and they
rushed to the trauma center
Marquis and
that moment only thing he can think
about besides his brother Tyriq
surviving is getting revenge because he
knows who shot at him and his friends it
was a rival neighborhood gang from
across town on the east side so after a
while once Tyreke was stabilized but
still fighting for his life marquise
goes and plots revenge him and his
buddies plan to go to the basketball
courts that same evening and spray a
crowd of innocent victims so not only
would Tariq possibly be going but then
Marquis would be possibly serving a life
sentence or death penalty and also we
have the lives of many innocent victims
ruined at the basketball game but what
about if there was a counselor named
Steve Steve is an ex-gang member who’s
from that same neighborhood Steve knows
what exactly it is that Marquis is going
through he’s lost many loved ones to
gang violence and he’s a trained
counselor what about a Steve met Marquis
at Christiana Hospital and he was able
to be there half an hour after the
family arrived what about if Steve was
able to counsel Marquis and mediate the
violence and talk to his friends and
tell them to just chill out cool out for
a few minutes while they think about the
consequences of violence what about if
Steve also not only helped resolve the
conflict but also could help Marquis get
back into school through several
meetings they had a week later what
about if Steve could help Marquis not
only get his GED but go to college what
about if Steve was able to not only help
Marquis succeed in school but also get
him into a paid job training program
well this are the type of programs that
we need in our urban centers these that
are type of programs that are severely
underfunded at the state and local
federal level these
intervention programs are what saves
lives so yes we do have a gun violence
problem in this country we have the
Second Amendment there are but there are
weapons allowed to you know be part of
our everyday culture we are allowed to
keep in bear arms but we cannot let the
27 words contain in the Second Amendment
define who we are as Delawareans and
Americans we need to invest in other
methods banning bump stocks banning
assault weapons in making other reforms
that we always hear about helps but it
does not solve the crisis of the
systemic violence in our urban centers
so what we need to do we have to step up
today we have to challenge ourselves and
then the first step to challenging
ourselves is to vote we’ve heard a lot
about elections within these past few
years but it’s even more critical now
than ever we have to vote if you’re over
18 and if you’re under 18 you have to
encourage your family friends and family
members everyone to gut out and vote
push on social media and the need to
vote and you have to put lawmakers in to
office who care about pushing gun safety
reforms care about funding intervention
programs care about rebuilding our
neighborhoods step 2 we really have to
invest and join local and national
grassroots movements we have local
organizations in Delaware organizations
such as the coalition to prevent gun
violence also groups like 302 guns down
but on the national level you can join
every town for gun safety or moms demand
action or the Gabby Giffords Center in
which I have worked as a legislative and
policy attorney work with their teams on
solving the crisis in Wilmington these
that are solutions these are things you
can do today you all have smart phones
you can sign up today for their email
lists and a third thing you can do is
organize organize organize some of the
biggest movements in world’s history
were organized by grassroots
organizations by youth in the civil
rights era we had landmark legislation
in 1960s Voting Rights Act in is in a
civil rights act that were mostly led by
students yet organization such as a
Student Nonviolent Coordinating
Committee or snick led by young leaders
like Julian Bond Stokely Carmichael and
now Congressman John Lewis so the youth
are leading the way and there’s no more
evident than a March for our lives
movement we have today so we have to
challenge ourselves as Nelson Mandela
once said action without vision is only
passing time vision without action is
merely daydreaming but action with
vision can change the world let’s change
the world and step up and fight gun
violence [Applause]
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