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[Page H2425]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from
North Carolina (Ms. Adams) for 5 minutes.
Ms. ADAMS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak in support of H.R.
7120, the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.
Enough is enough. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice
everywhere. Too many of our neighbors have died at the hands of law
enforcement. Valuable people, beloved people, people who were siblings
and coworkers and parishioners, members of our communities, parents,
children, grandchildren are now hashtags. They are household names who
would have all traded that fame for just one more day, one more day
with their friends, their families and loved ones.
Across this country we have learned too many names, but not as many
people know their ages.
Walter Scott was 50. Tony McDade was 38. Alton Sterling was 37.
Philando Castile was 32. Sandra Bland was 28. Breonna Taylor was 26.
Botham Jean was 26. Freddie Gray was 25. Ahmaud Arbery was 25. Stephon
Clark was 22. Michael Brown was 18. Laquan McDonald was 17. Tamir Rice
was 12. Aiyana Stanley-Jones was just 7.
In Mecklenburg County in my district, we have too many names, over 50
since the year 2000, people of every race and background. Keith Lamont
Scott was 43. Reuben Galindo was 29. Danquirs Franklin was 27. Clay
McCall was 26. Jonathan Ferrell was 24. Darryl Turner was 17. Laquan
Brown was 16.
Since January 1, 2015, at least 155 people have been shot and killed
by police in my home State of North Carolina, and at least 5,428 people
have been shot and killed by police across the United States.
David McAtee, 53, was killed by the Kentucky National Guard while
protesting these injustices. Eric Garner, 43, and George Floyd, 46,
were put in chokeholds. They begged they couldn't breathe.
Imagine how many of these killings didn't have to happen. Imagine how
many years of life we could give back to these men, women, and
children. Imagine what God will say to us on judgment day if we fail to
act.
The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act is a first step to righting
these wrongs. Importantly, the bill bans chokeholds so that a death
like George Floyd's or Eric Garner's never has to happen again.
Additionally, it will force police departments nationwide to
reexamine the use of chemical agents like tear gas, bringing us closer
to a day when protestors exercising their constitutional right won't
choke, both figuratively and literally, on injustice.
It was a tragedy that George Floyd will, in the words of Roxie
Washington, never get to walk his daughter down the aisle. But like
their 6-year-old daughter, Gianna, said, ``Daddy changed the world.''
So let's do right by Gianna. Let's make good on her promise of
change, and let's pass the Justice in Policing Act. Let's pass it
today.
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