September 18, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 150 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session

[Page H7761]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              STATE OF GUN VIOLENCE IN THE VIRGIN ISLANDS

  (Ms. PLASKETT asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. PLASKETT. Mr. Speaker, every day, 100 Americans are killed with 
guns and hundreds more are shot and injured. That is 36,500 people a 
year who lose their lives to gun violence. The effects extend far 
beyond those casualties and shape the lives of millions of Americans 
who witness it, know someone who was shot, or live in fear of the next 
shooting. This senseless loss of life is all too common in the United 
States and its territories.
  As of August 26, we have lost 26 lives to gun violence in the Virgin 
Islands. In 2018, the United Nations released a report naming the 
territory as the new murder capital in the Caribbean, with 52.64 
murders per 100,000 people.
  For the families, friends, and communities of victims in the Virgin 
Islands, this pain will never pass, just as it will not pass for the 
loved ones of thousands of other people who have died from gun violence 
in the U.S.
  Time for action is overdue. Earlier this year, the House passed the 
Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2019, requiring checks for all gun 
purchases. We need to push for universal background checks, assistance 
and increasing funds to border control for the Virgin Islands and 
Puerto Rico to stop guns coming into the territories, and enhanced 
treatment and resources for mental health.
  I look forward to working with all to come up with some form of 
sensible gun law legislation.

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