San Antonio Standard

WASHINGTON – On May 23, ahead of the one-year commemoration of the May 24, 2022, mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, Congressman Joaquin Castro (TX-20) delivered a speech on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives to honor the victims of the shooting and call for stronger gun safety laws to save lives.

 

Congressman Castro speaks on the floor of the House of Representatives. 

To download this video, click here for the floor camera recording or here for the CSPAN recording.

Congressman Castro’s remarks, as delivered, are below:

I rise to honor the families of Uvalde, Texas.

One year ago this week, 21 souls walked through the doors of their classrooms for the very last time.

They were teachers, artists and athletes, aspiring police officers and honor roll students.

Hours later, they were dead, gunned down by a teenage shooter with weapons designed for the battlefield.

At the morgue, their bodies were so ravaged they had to be identified through DNA testing.

I have three children: nine, seven, and one.

When I drop my older children at school, I think of the families in Uvalde who never had a chance to say goodbye to theirs.

Over the last year, those same families have held back tears in our committee rooms as they begged Congress to end America's gun violence epidemic.

We know how to stop school shootings.

We know that assault weapons bans, universal background checks and a higher age for gun purchases will save American lives.

The teachers and children who died cannot change the law.

But we can honor their memories by having the courage to act.

Original source can be found here.