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Showing posts with label gun violence. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gun violence. Show all posts
Thursday, September 26, 2019
Thursday, February 14, 2019
JUDICIARY: Hearing On Preventing Gun Violence In America - My Colored Commentary
Q: How to stop gun violence in the United States.
A: Stop making people poor by stealin' the children, the land and the votes.
Wednesday, March 21, 2018
JUDICIARY: NADLER, JACKSON LEE BLAST HEARING HELD TO UNDERMINE CRITICAL REFORMS TO SCHOOL DISCIPLINE & IGNORE NEED TO STRENGTHEN GUN LAWS
How about a hearing on child welfare policies that have obviously been demonstrated to be ineffective and riddled with fraud?
Washington, D.C. - Today, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland, Security, and Investigations conducted a hearing examining school safety issues and the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) inadequate response to tips concerning the man who shot and killed 17 students and staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida on February 14. Among the issues examined in the hearing, Republicans focused on the reform of school disciplinary policies by Broward County, Florida in 2013 and guidance on school discipline issued by the Obama Administration in 2014, emphasizing the duty of schools to comply with civil rights laws.
Ranking Member Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and Subcommittee Ranking Member Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) released the following statement after the hearing:
“On a day when our country has suffered yet another horrific school shooting, Judiciary Committee Republicans held a hearing that did not consider how to address dangerous flaws in our gun laws, but instead sought to blame commendable efforts to reform school disciplinary policies for the Parkland, Florida school shooting. School disciplinary policies and practices should be unbiased, but many have not been and reforms to address discrimination based on race, color, and national origin are long overdue. If statistics show that the imposition of certain forms of discipline have dropped in some districts, we would only hope that those who called for this hearing would at least consider that the reforms are achieving their intended, constructive purpose of making these policies more fair, while not reducing student safety. To suggest otherwise and, furthermore, to claim that reducing bias in school discipline has led to the terrible tragedy in Florida last month, is offensive.”
On March 7, 2018, during a House Judiciary Committee markup, Ranking Member Nadler called for the House Judiciary Committee to address gun violence in America.
On February 21, 2018, all House Judiciary Committee Democrats, led by Ranking Member Nadler, urged Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) to bring gun violence prevention legislation before the House Judiciary Committee for a vote.
On November 7, 2017, Judiciary Democrats sent a letter to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte to request that the Committee’s ATF briefing be conducted as a public hearing, and that the FBI be included to discuss background check issues.
On November 1, 2017, all House Judiciary Democrats sent a letter to Chairman Bob Goodlatte, urging him to hold hearings on gun violence in America.
On October 2, 2017, immediately following the Las Vegas shooting, Judiciary Democrats sent a letter to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte to renew their call for hearings on these issues.
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Wednesday, November 8, 2017
CONYERS: After Texas Shooting, Conyers Renews Call For Judiciary Committee To Address Gun Violence
Washington, D.C. – After the horrific shooting in Sutherland Springs, Texas, House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI), renewed his call for the House Judiciary Committee to investigate gun violence in America and called for a private Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) briefing to be conducted as an official public hearing with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Ranking Member Conyers delivered the following remarks during today’s Judiciary hearing:
I hope that the @HouseJudiciary will take up the issue of #gunviolence, including an examination of #bumpstocks, as soon as possible. pic.twitter.com/vhYGMQYhx5— John Conyers, Jr. (@RepJohnConyers) November 7, 2017
Mr. Chairman, before I discuss the important topic of today’s hearing, I want to raise another issue that we must unfortunately confront with urgency.
On Sunday, a gunman shot and killed 26 churchgoers in Sutherland Springs, Texas. All of us were shocked by this horrific act and express condolences to the victims and families.
We now know that information concerning his court martial for domestic abuse should have been submitted by the Air Force to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System. He should have been prevented from purchasing firearms from licensed gun dealers via the Brady background check system.
Yesterday, before this information came to light, I wrote to the Chairman, requesting that the briefing planned for our Members tomorrow afternoon by ATF on the issue of bump stocks be expanded to include the FBI to discuss the background check issues related to Sutherland Springs, and that the briefing be conducted as a formal hearing, open to the public.
Now that we have even more information that there has been a breakdown in the implementation of our background check system, I ask that we include relevant officials from the Department of Defense and the Air Force.
I believe we should proceed quickly to learn what happened, and the public deserves to hear answers directly.
Therefore, I reiterate and expand my request concerning tomorrow’s briefing.
Yesterday, Ranking Member Conyers and Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations Ranking Member Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) sent a letter, below, to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte to request that the Committee’s ATF briefing be conducted as a public hearing, and that the FBI be included to discuss background check issues.
On November 1st, Conyers led a letter signed by every Democratic member of the House Judiciary Committee to Chairman Bob Goodlatte, urging him to hold hearings on gun violence in America.
At an October 12th markup, Ranking Member Conyers called on the House Judiciary Committee Majority to investigate gun violence in America.
On October 2nd, immediately following the Las Vegas shooting, Ranking Member Conyers and Subcommittee Ranking Member Sheila Jackson Lee sent a letter to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte to renew their call for hearings on these issues.
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Wednesday, November 1, 2017
CONYERS: House Judiciary Committee Democrats Urge Goodlatte To Hold Hearings On Gun Violence
In their letter to Chairman Goodlatte, the Members wrote, “To be clear, we are not writing simply because of the high toll of death and injuries in Las Vegas, but because – despite progress we have made in decreasing crime in our country over the past two decades – on average, more than 11,000 people are murdered with guns in America ever year, and more than 60,000 individuals are injured in an attack. Congress has a responsibility to find a way to help prevent tragedies like Las Vegas, as well as the daily incidence of gun violence in our communities. That responsibility starts in this Committee, and we are disappointed that this Committee has not addressed this issue at all this Congress.”
At an October 12th markup, Ranking Member Conyers called on the House Judiciary Committee Majority to investigate gun violence in America.
On October 2nd, immediately following the Las Vegas shooting, Ranking Member Conyers and Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations Ranking Member Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) sent a letter, below, to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte to renew their call for hearings on these issues.
Today’s letter was signed by every Democratic member of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee, including: Representatives John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), Steve Cohen (D-TN), Hank Johnson (D-GA), Ted Deutch (D-FL), Luis Gutierrez (D-IL), Karen Bass (D-CA), Cedric Richmond (D-LA), Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), David Cicilline (D-RI), Eric Swalwell (D-CA), Ted Lieu (D-CA), Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) and Brad Schneider (D-IL).
Friday, October 13, 2017
CONYERS: At Judiciary Committee Markup, Conyers Calls On Committee To Address Gun Violence
Washington, D.C. – House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) called on the House Judiciary Committee Majority to investigate gun violence in America.
Ranking Member Conyers delivered the following remarks during the Judiciary Committee markup:
Before addressing the bill before us, I want to begin my remarks today by extending my condolences to the family and friends of the 58 individuals killed in the shooting in Las Vegas, and expressing my hopes for the recovery of the nearly 500 people injured.
Congress has a responsibility to find a way to help prevent tragedies like this, as well as the daily incidence of gun violence in our communities. I am disappointed that this Committee has not addressed this issue at all this Congress.
In fact, when legislation weakening our laws on silencers and armor piercing ammunition was being prepared for floor consideration, this Committee waived jurisdiction. We were prepared to let it go – without a hearing or markup – as if it didn’t merit our time or attention.
Of course, I opposed those provisions because I believed they would take us in the wrong direction by making us more vulnerable to gun violence. I am glad the Speaker has now indicated that he has no plans to bring that bill to the floor.
In light of the Las Vegas shooting, and the daily toll of gun violence that impacts all of our communities, it is time for the Committee to take action.
While I’m sure our staff members will benefit from the briefing on so-called “bump stocks” that the ATF will conduct for them on Friday, it is long overdue for us to conduct hearings on the issue of gun violence, and to adopt legislation intended to strengthen our gun laws.
With respect to “bump stocks,” Speaker Ryan has said that he thinks a regulator approach by the ATF is the appropriate way to address them, but we have not even had a hearing here in this Committee for us to hear about and discuss different approaches.
Our overall objective on these issues must be to protect our citizens from becoming victims, whether it is from a mass attack or any other, sadly more common act of gun violence.
Indeed, we do not need mass attacks to remind us of the urgency of the issue, as each day’s news in communities across our country should tell us.
Every day of inaction is a lost opportunity to do something about this.
And so, as we prepare to consider the bills scheduled for this markup session today, I hope that the Committee will take up the issue of gun violence as soon as possible.
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Tuesday, June 20, 2017
Steve Scalise Was Shot By A Human Trafficker Foster Parent
That is correct.
U.S. Representative Steve Scalise was shot by a foster parent, and from the looks of the unsealed records by the FBI shows the probability that his shooter was part of human trafficking, which has been a rumor circulating on the child welfare fraud circuit.
There are three curious items that have surfaced from this tragic event:
Haskenhoff said that when he arrived, the car Stock drove was surrounded by firefighters and county deputies. Told there was a body in the car, he said at first he didn’t believe it.
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U.S. Representative Steve Scalise was shot by a foster parent, and from the looks of the unsealed records by the FBI shows the probability that his shooter was part of human trafficking, which has been a rumor circulating on the child welfare fraud circuit.
There are three curious items that have surfaced from this tragic event:
- The FBI possesses powers to unseal and investigate a state child welfare case, in this situation, two cases of death of foster children;
- A foster child died by immolation and Illinois child welfare allowed the Hodgkins to continue to be licensed as foster parents to take in another female foster child;
- A second foster child died, alleged suicide, again, and there was no action taken by the Illinois child welfare officials, state attorney general, nor any other state law enforcement agency.
If the FBI possesses the powers to open sealed state child welfare cases, then how come there has never, ever, ever been a complete federal investigation into Medicaid fraud in child welfare?
In all instances, the blame should be on the State of Illinois and the entire federal child welfare system as foster care and adoption was intentionally designed for human trafficking, an issue that was being championed by U.S. Representative Steve Scalise.
But, per the norm, no one cares about children, particularly children of the poor.
Carry on with the political ideological blame game because more kids will be put in foster care trafficked and billed to Medicaid.
Congressional shooter was abusive alcoholic, foster daughter told judge before overdose death
| Cathy Rainbolt was abused almost from birth to her death, including physical abuse from James “Tom” Hodgkinson, the congressional shooter killed by police on Wednesday. Cathy lived in the Hodgkinson house near Belleville, IL, as a foster child. |
Teenager Cathy Rainbolt told a judge her foster father hit her in the face when she failed to mow the lawn correctly. She got hit in the face when she argued. She got hit and dragged by the hair when she tried to get away.
Her foster father was James “Tom” Hodgkinson, who is now infamous after shooting U.S. House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, two U.S. Capitol Police officers and a staffer on a Virginia ballfield Wednesday. Rainbolt told the judge that Hodgkinson drank every day.
“I didn’t mark a time when (Hodgkinson) started hitting me,” Rainbolt told St. Clair County Circuit Judge James Radcliffe during a hearing Nov. 21, 2006. “It’s been hard to live with (an alcoholic) and how (he) treated me,” Rainbolt said.
The transcript of the hearing was unsealed, along with the rest of Rainbolt’s juvenile file, after a request by the Belleville News-Democrat was granted by Circuit Judge Jan Fiss on Friday afternoon. Rainbolt died in 2015 of a drug overdose after a life “mixed with human suffering and laughter,” her obit read.
Hodgkinson was killed Wednesday by police to halt his shooting spree. Sue Hodgkinson has been under police protection and could not be reached Friday. She granted an interview Thursday and then asked the media to leave her alone.
Rainbolt was asked at the hearing whether she had been abused in any other way.
“There was no sexual abuse or anything like that. It was emotional and verbal abuse,” she answered.
Illinois Department of Childen and Family Services spokeswoman Veronica Resa confirmed the Hodgkinsons were foster parents from 1990 to 2003. She declined to answer further questions, citing privacy laws.
Rachele Putnam, Rainbolt’s biological mother, lost custody of her and her two sisters in 1995 when Cathy was 6. The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services placed Cathy in Don Bosco Children’s Home in Belleville after determining her mother’s boyfriend sexually abused her 9- and 8-year-old sisters.
DCFS also found that Cathy’s biological father, Michael Putnam, sexually abused the girls, as well as their paternal grandfather.
Cathy was placed in a foster home, attended counseling and made monthly visits to her father in prison.
Around 2002, the 13-year-old went to live with the Hodgkinsons. She took their last name and became Cathy Hodgkinson. The Hodgkinsons opted not to adopt Cathy, but instead chose a “subsidized guardianship” for their grand-niece.
Every year they would file annual reports to the court, noting expenses made for Cathy such as $112.65 for her surprise 16th birthday party or $105 for the Apple iPod she received as a birthday present or the $104 for a backpack and school supplies.
Cathy found a friend, who lived next door to the Hodgkinsons — Janae Rainbolt. At Janae’s home Cathy found a refuge and a family.
“Well, I went to the Hodgkinsons’ as soon as they were my foster family. (Janae Rainbolt) and I became best friends, inseparable, we did everything together, homework and everything and I grew up with her. I spent every single day at her house in the summer. We camped outside. And (went) out to eat and shopping,” Rainbolt told the judge.
On April 1, 2006, James Hodgkinson forced his way into his neighbor’s home, according to a police report.
“Once inside the residence, James started screaming for (Cathy),” the report stated.
He told her it was time to come home, but Cathy wanted to stay. She went upstairs and locked herself in a bedroom. Hodgkinson followed her up, cursing and shouting, the report stated. Cathy hid next to the bed on the floor.
Hodgkinson again demanded Cathy return home. She said no.
“James grabbed (Cathy) by the hair and pulled her off the floor. After Cathy was off the floor, she attempted to run away. James would not release his grip and threw Cathy to the floor,” the report stated.
One of the girls’ friends, Aimee Moreland, 19, heard screaming and saw Hodgkinson throwing Cathy around the bedroom. She told police he was hitting Cathy, pulling her hair and grabbing her.
The two girls fled to Moreland’s car and tried to leave, but Hodgkinson pulled open the passenger side door and tried to pull Cathy out, the report said. He reached over and pulled the keys out of the ignition, pulled out a knife and cut the seat belt.
Sue Hodgkinson came to the car and began fighting with Cathy, hitting her and pulling her hair and trying to pull her out of Moreland’s car. She finally gave up and said, “I’ll just call the police and put you back into foster care,” the report stated.
It was then that James Hodgkinson began grabbing Cathy again, choking her, tearing her Belleville West sweatshirt. Moreland tried to intervene and was hit in the face.
Joel Fernandez, Moreland’s 19-year-old boyfriend, went to confront the Hodgkinsons and told police he was met by James Hodgkinson pointing a 12-gauge shotgun in his face. He told police a shot was fired as he ran away. Police investigating the case found a spent shotgun shell near Hodgkinson’s front porch.
Hodgkinson was charged with battery, but the case was dropped when witnesses did not appear.
That was the last day Cathy stayed with the Hodgkinsons.
Cathy’s adopted sister, Julie Simpson, picked her up from the sheriff’s department that night. She went to a foster home in Cahokia soon after.
Julie Simpson and the Hodgkinsons were featured in a foster family newsletter in 2004.
Julie Simpson described the Hodgkinsons as a loving family that calmed a nervous 13-year-old who broke dishes and how James Hodgkinson left the hospital to attend her wedding and then adopted her when she was 24, so she’d always have a family.
Julie Simpson described the Hodgkinsons as a loving family that calmed a nervous 13-year-old who broke dishes and how James Hodgkinson left the hospital to attend her wedding and then adopted her when she was 24, so she’d always have a family.
But Cathy’s placement in Cahokia didn’t work out. Cathy was only allowed to eat after the family was finished. There were cockroaches in the cereal. Her foster father “tickled” her and commented on her figure.
And soon, Cathy was back at Janae Rainbolt’s house with her mother, Nicki Stieren, agreeing to be Cathy’s guardian, according to the court records.
Cathy asked Judge Radcliffe to change her name from Hodgkinson to Rainbolt.
“You guys want to be sisters, in other words. You guys want to have the same last name,” Radcliffe asked.
Cathy said “yes” and became Cathy Rainbolt.
Tension remained between the neighbors. Nicki Stieren called the police to report Hodgkinson ran over her dog, which was sleeping in the driveway six weeks after Hodgkinson tried to pull Cathy out of her house.
| James Hodgkins |
Less than four weeks later, the Hodgkinsons filed their final report as Cathy’s guardians. It was the day after Christmas 2006 and the day before Cathy’s 17th birthday.
In that report, they detailed the expenses incurred on her behalf, including legal fees, intermediate foster care, damage done to the front lawn and $300 to repair a hole kicked in her bedroom wall.
“ ... in addition to the lost work time we incurred for counseling, court dates, incarcerations and medical expenses for the stress the rest of the family was put through while (the girl) manipulated her way through the system,” James and Suzanne Hodgkinson wrote.
Stieren taught Cathy to drive, bought her a car, but Stieren said in Cathy’s obit that the two never formed a mother-daughter bond. Cathy Rainbolt was emancipated when she was 18. She didn’t want to follow the rules and keep up with chores at the Stieren house.
“All I can say is that I have tried and will keep being a source of moral support for this daughter of mine. It feels like failure but maybe someday she will understand,” Nicki Stieren wrote in a letter to the judge.
As an adult, Cathy Rainbolt developed a drug problem, according to her obituary. She had a son. In 2011, she once again fell prey to a sexual attack at the hands of her biological father, who was sentenced to five years on criminal sexual abuse charges.
On July 26, 2015, Cathy Rainbolt died of a heroin overdose. She was 25.
“Foster care is supposed to be foster parenting,” Nicki Stieren wrote in Cathy’s obituary. “Parenting is supporting the physical, emotional, social, financial and intellectual development of a child from infancy to adulthood. Foster care is not supposed to be belittling. The child is not supposed to be your free worker bee.”
Cathy was the first of two Hodgkinson foster children to die young. In 1996, 17-year-old Wanda Ashley Stock, who had been living with the Hodgkinsons in Belleville for just three months, drove to a lonely rural road, doused herself with gasoline and set herself on fire.
St. Clair County Deputy Coroner Danny Haskenhoff said he will never never forget seeing smoke on the horizon over Mine Haul Road not far from Smithton.
| Stock immolated herself in 1996 after her boyfriend broke up with her. She was in the foster care of congressional shooter James “Tom” Hodgkinson and his wife |
“I said, ‘Oh, bullshit,’” and then I realized. “Ah, there’s a body in the car.”
“It was determined to be a suicide, and we typically don’t autopsy suicide,” Haskenhoff said. A police report could not be located Friday.
At the time, Suzanne Hodgkinson said the teenager’s death was a complete surprise. Hodgkinson passed her foster daughter in the car and was quoted by a News-Democrat reporter as saying, “She didn’t pull out of the driveway in a frenzy.
She drove at a normal pace.
There was no indication that there was anything wrong.”
She drove at a normal pace.
There was no indication that there was anything wrong.”
Haskenhoff said one odd detail he recalled is that two gas cans were found some distance back from the section of road where the flaming car was found.
According to the BND article, Stock left a note with instructions to leave whatever valuables she had to a friend. Her license place was “Jeff Ashe,” a reference to her boyfriend, which police used to identify her and discover her home.
It was a break-up with that boyfriend that prompted the suicide, Sue Hodgkinson said in a News-Democrat story about suicide prevention. She encouraged other parents to keep a close eye on emotional children, who take things hard.
Nicki Stieren wrote an emotional ode in Cathy’s obituary that was also a plea for other foster children.
“To all you children in foster care, seek out those good teachers and counselors at your school, find friends to encourage you and please find your passion. Don’t waste your life and don’t let Cathy’s death be in vain. Chances are most everyone needs help. Go and get yours.”
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Friday, October 14, 2016
CONYERS Applauds DOJ Decision To Collect Data On Use Of Force
Detroit, MI – House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) today released the following statement after the U.S. Department of Justice announced plans to collect data on the use of force by law enforcement officers:
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| Dean of the U.S. House of Representatives John Conyers, Jr. |
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Tuesday, September 20, 2016
CONYERS: DOJ Investigates Death of Terence Crutcher
"I am pleased The United States Department of Justice is investigating the death of#TerenceCrutcher.
Given the multitude of video capturing this incident, I will be following this case closely to see how justice is served." said , U.S. Representative John Conyers, Jr.
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Given the multitude of video capturing this incident, I will be following this case closely to see how justice is served." said , U.S. Representative John Conyers, Jr.
Tulsa police shooting investigated by Justice Department
(CNN) From different angles, the videos show the same scene.
An unarmed black man walks on a Tulsa, Oklahoma, road with his hands in the air. Police officers follow closely behind him as he approaches his vehicle. He stands beside the car, then falls to the ground after one officer pulls the trigger.
Now 40-year-old Terence Crutcher is dead. Crutcher's sister is demanding that prosecutors charge the officer who shot him. And the police videos of the incident are fueling criticism about the case.
Federal, state and local authorities are investigating the Friday night shooting.
Crutcher's family says he was waiting for help on the road after his SUV broke down.
The officer's attorney says she was afraid Crutcher was reaching for a weapon when she opened fire. Attorney Benjamin Crump, part of the legal team representing Crutcher's family, countered at a Tuesday news conference that Crutcher's window was rolled up, making it unlikely he was reaching into the car.
http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/20/us/oklahoma-tulsa-police-shooting/index.html
http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/20/us/oklahoma-tulsa-police-shooting/index.html
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Tuesday, July 19, 2016
CONYERS Speaks At 107th NAACP Anniversary Conference On Policing Strategies Working Group
"Yesterday I spoke at the 107th anniversary conference of the NAACP. I discussed current negotiations of my Law Enforcement Trust and Integrity Act as well as the recently formed bipartisan Congressional working group on policing strategies. I'm glad to have participated in a such an important conversation on strengthening community and police relations. This is an issue that requires an ongoing unified effort." said Conyers.
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Monday, July 18, 2016
BIPARTISAN POLICING STRATEGIES WORKING GROUP HOLDS FIRST MEETING
Washington, D.C. – The bipartisan working group on policing strategies – announced by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) and Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) – met to discuss the issues of the use of excessive force by police, aggression towards law enforcement, and public safety concerns related to these issues.
Also attending the working group meeting were Reverend Doctor DeForest B. Soaries, Jr., the Senior Pastor of the First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens in Somerset, New Jersey, and Deborah A. Ramirez, the Executive Director for Partnering for Prevention and Community Safety Initiative and Professor of Law at Northeastern University School of Law.
Ranking Member Conyers and Chairman Goodlatte released the following statement after the meeting:
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| Dean of the U.S. House of Representatives John Conyers, Jr. |
“Members agreed to use the coming weeks to engage with their constituents, including law enforcement, religious and other community leaders, area youth, as well as mothers and fathers who have lost children to violent crime, on these issues and reiterated their commitment to finding ways to rebuild the trust between local law enforcement and the citizens they are sworn to protect and serve. We expect the task force will be holding future meetings in the coming weeks and months as well.”
Chairman Goodlatte and Ranking Member Conyers are leading the working group. Members of the working group are: Representatives Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), Doug Collins (R-Ga.), Dave Reichert (R-Wash.), Susan Brooks (R-Ind.), Will Hurd (R-Texas), Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas), Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), Cedric Richmond (D-La.), Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), and Robin Kelly (D-Ill.).
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Sunday, July 17, 2016
Guns, RNC and CPS in Ohio: Waiting For The First Dead Kid
Cleveland police union asks for suspension of 'open carry' in wake of Baton Rouge, ahead of RNC
This is a picture of children playing 40 feet away from the "RNC Convention Gun Advocates", for lack of a better descriptive.
So where are all the child protection, concerned advocates?
Where is Ohio CPS?
But wait...
Ohio's Governor John Kaisch denied the request.
So, if Congress refuses to allow the CDC to study gun violence, then why not have local police jurisdictions do it?
Local police can have their commissioners take the lead, partner with universities, or even better, how about partnering with the largest 501c3 to request funding to study gun violence? (Snarky snicker)
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Friday, July 15, 2016
Statement of the Honorable John Conyers, Jr. “Oversight of the U.S. Department of Justice”
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| Dean of the U.S. House of Representatives John Conyers, Jr. |
Thank you, Madam Attorney General, for being with us today.
The news of the past few days has been full of questions about violence, civil rights, and the safety of our police officers—and I want you to know that we take seriously the burden of each of these questions on your office.
It will not have escaped your attention that we are in the middle of election season. You may also know that there are just three working days left until we break for the summer—and, really, not much more time after that until the Congress ends.
Elections are about choices. And a short working schedule is about setting priorities.
As you are no doubt aware, one of this Committee’s top legislative priorities is criminal justice reform. We have already found consensus on a range of such issues, including sentencing, prison, and asset forfeiture reform.
The Chairman and I also stand on the precipice of an agreement on policing reform legislation. Given the events of the past week, the need for this measure has never been more urgent.
Questions about the use of lethal force by police are not new, but the nation is newly engaged in the issue after Ferguson, Staten Island, Cleveland, North Charleston, and Baltimore.
Over the past week, we saw the same sad themes play out in Baton Rouge and Minnesota—as well as in the horrific killing of five police officers in Dallas.
I believe it is more critical than ever that we reach a final agreement on police accountability and standards.
At a time when African Americans are 30% more likely than whites to be pulled over while driving, more than three times more likely to have their car searched, and more than twice as likely to be shot by the police, it is imperative that we restore public faith in our criminal justice system.
We must finish this work, for both the communities that feel so much anguish this week, and for the officers who patrol our streets every day. It is my sincere hope that we consider this matter before we adjourn.
Unfortunately, there are many other areas where we have not been able to advance bipartisan initiatives.
I would like to tell you that we are prepared to have a substantive discussion about the manner in which we will restore Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. The preclearance mechanism was used for decades by your Department to restore a sense of fairness in jurisdictions that have known prejudice for generations. Since it was struck down, we have seen at least 17 states enact measures designed to restrict access to the ballot box.
Bipartisan legislation has been introduced that would have restored this vital tool long before voting began this year. But Mr. Sensenbrenner’s legislation sits untouched.
I would also like to tell you that we are prepared to address the scourge of gun violence in this country.
The events last week in Baton Rouge, in Minnesota, and in Dallas—and the anger and sadness felt in communities across the nation—are what one commentator aptly called “the horrific, predictable result of a widely armed citizenry.”
This epidemic claims nearly 33,000 individuals every year. It infects our churches, our schools, and our homes. It places our police officers into the direct line of fire. It makes our citizens afraid.
But we have not held a single hearing on this topic —not when 26 children and teachers were murdered at Sandy Hook, not when our colleague was shot in Phoenix, and not when the body count reached 49 in Orlando.
Last month, every Democratic member of this Committee wrote to Chairman Goodlatte with a list of specific policy proposals to address this violence. To date, we have received no response.
I would also like to tell you, Madam Attorney General, that we have an answer for the millions of undocumented immigrants who came here in search of a better life, but who are forced to live in the shadows.
Some of us have put a great deal of effort into antagonizing and vilifying that community—but this Committee has offered very few solutions acknowledging that these families are here to stay.
But elections are about choices, Madam Attorney General. There are only three working days left this month—and then we adjourn for seven weeks.
How will my colleagues on the other side of the aisle choose to fill that time? Today, apparently, Secretary Hillary Clinton’s email takes precedence over gun violence and civil rights.
Let us be clear: the criminal investigation is closed. There was no intentional wrongdoing. Director Comey—whose reputation for independence and integrity is unquestioned—has explained his reasoning in great detail.
If any of my colleagues are not yet convinced, it is because they do not want to be convinced. And in their zeal to call Secretary Clinton a liar or a criminal—despite the facts and despite the law—I fear they will have missed an opportunity to engage with you on more worthy subjects.
We may also spend time today talking about the alleged wrongdoings of Commissioner Koskinen of the Internal Revenue Service. Some of my colleagues want to use one of the remaining working days before the break to move his impeachment directly to the House floor.
In many ways, this gesture is totally meaningless. There is bipartisan consensus that the Commissioner’s critics have not proved their case, and there is virtually no chance of a conviction in the Senate.
But I believe that the rush to impeachment, although ineffectual, would set a dangerous precedent for the Congress and the American people.
Once we cross this line, we write a new rule: whatever the merits of the charges, the House may impeach an official without due process—without the right to counsel, without the right to present evidence to this Committee, and without the right question the evidence presented against him.
Elections are about choices, Madam Attorney General, and here is the choice we face as the clock runs down on the 114th Congress:
We can spend the few days that remain on conspiracy theories and political sniping that does little for our constituents but drive them further apart from their neighbors.
Or we can attempt to solve even one of the long list of problems that face this country today.
We should choose to do the work we were sent here to do—or the public is right to choose somebody else to do it.
I look forward to our conversation today, Attorney General Lynch. I thank the Chairman, and I yield back.
Voting is beautiful, be beautiful ~ vote.©
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