protocols they might have with law enforcement to keep your children safe. so you can talk intelligently and in an informed way about the steps that have been taken to keep them safe. so, i think it's important -- >> we're going to leave this recorded program and take you live to capitol hill for a congressional hearing on gun violence. an 11-year-old survivor of the uvalde, texas school shooting will testify, along with the parents of other shooting victims. live coverage from the house oversight committee on c-span 3, you can also watch our free video app, c-span now. >> unless your pool, you need to leave the room. unless your designated pool, you need to leave the room, thank you. [inaudible] >> welcome everybody, to today's hybrid hearing. pursuing to house rules, some members will appear in person and others will appear remotely via zoom. her members appearing remotely, i know you are all familiar with zoom by now but let me remind you. , first of the house rules require that we see you. so, please have your cameras turned on at all times. second, members appeared remotely who are not recognize should remain muted to minimize background noise. third, i will recognize members verbally but members retain the right to seek recognition, forcibly, in regular order. lastly, if you want to be recognized outside of regular order you may identify that in several ways. you may use the chat function to send a request, you may send an email to the majority staff or you may unmute your mic to seek recognition. we will begin the hearing in just a moment, when they tell us we are ready to begin the live stream. the committee will come to order. without, objection the chair is authorized to declare a recess of the committee at anytime. i now recognize myself for an opening statement. today, we will examine the destruction and heartbreak that gun violence is causing across our country. i want to express my deep gratitude to each of our witnesses for being here today. i am particularly grateful to our witnesses who will be discussing the loss of their loved ones and their personal experiences from recent mass shootings in uvalde, texas and buffalo, new york. despite their pain, these witnesses express their strong desire to share their stories with this committee and the public. i know that i speak for every member of this committee when i say that we are inspired by your bravery. for a parent, there is no greater pain than the loss of a child. but across the country, since this gun violence is claiming the lives of our children and loved ones in places where they should be safe, our schools, our supermarkets, even our churches and our synagogues. gun violence is the leading cause of death for children in our country. as a society, we are failing our children and we are failing each other. this out of control gun violence is a uniquely american tragedy. as you can see in this chart, in 2019, the united states suffered 17 times more gun deaths than the next highest g7 country. we stand alone in mass shootings. other countries path sensible gun safety laws and protect their children. and no other country comes close to that number of school shootings we have. between 2009 and 2018, the u.s. had 288, 288, school shootings. all other g7 countries combined had just five. some of my colleagues across the aisle have blamed the violence on mental illness. they have blamed violent video games. they have blamed family values. they have even blamed opened doors. they have blamed everything but guns. but we know the united states does not have a monopoly on mental illness, video games or any other excuse. what america does have is widespread access to guns. that includes assault weapons, which were designed to kill as many enemy soldiers on the battlefield as possible as quickly as possible. yet, in many states, these weapons of war can be purchased by an 18 year old just by walking into a store. assault weapons were used in the recent massacres in buffalo, texas and tulsa. just as they were in parkland, newtown, san bernardino, orlando, las vegas and so many other mass shootings. these weapons have no place in our communities, no civilian needs an assault rifle. and, the second amendment does not protect the right to own a weapon of war. it is time that we banned assault rifles from our streets, our communities, and from our homes. but if we are going to truly address the gun crisis we need to be honest about why our country has failed to act sooner. the truth is the gun industry is making billions of dollars selling the weapons that are killing our children. and they are fighting tooth and nail to keep doing it. that is why i have launched an investigation into five leading gun manufacturers that sell assault weapons used in mass shootings. we need to know why these communities are marketing military weapons to civilians, and how much they are profiting from the death of our children. of course, mass shootings are just one part of this crisis. we cannot forget that gun violence is a steady drumbeat and so many of our towns and cities. especially in marginalized communities. black men make up more than half of all gun victims in the united states. despite making up less than 6% of the population. latinos are twice as likely to be killed by a gun, and four times as likely to be wounded by a gun as white americans. we need transparency and to how guns are reaching the hands of criminals, which is why this committee has been working to identify the gun dealers that are selling the most guns used in crimes. including across state lines. today the house is voting to pass common sense gun safety legislation, which is a crucial first step in addressing this crisis. i am particularly grateful this bill will include key provisions similar to a bipartisan bill i first introduced more than ten years ago. with a strong support of former chairman elijah cummings. my bill would make gun trafficking a federal felony and strengthen penalties for strong purchases. which will help stop the flow of guns into the hands of criminals. my goal for today's hearing is simple, i am asking every member of this committee to listen with an open heart to the brave witnesses who have come forward to tell their stories about how gun violence has impacted their lives. our witnesses today have endured pain, and loss. yet they are displaying incredible courage by coming here to ask us to do our jobs. let us hear their voices, let us honor their courage, let us find the same courage to pass common sense laws to protect our children. i now recognize the distinguished ranking member mr. -- for an opening statement. >> thank you chairwoman maloney, all of our hearts go to the victims and families of uvalde texas and buffalo, new york. to those of us who are testifying before us today, there are no words to describe the deep anguish you feel. the american people agree with you. as elected representatives in congress it is our obligation to work to ensure that these violent crimes and tragedies never happen again. americans of all backgrounds should be empowered to defend themselves against rising violence. the increased violence we have witnessed since the summer of 2020 is unacceptable. murders and aggravated assaults are all up. this is a trend we must reverse, we have recently witnessed several high-profile and senseless acts of murder and mayhem, that have impacted all americans. including, tragically, our defenseless and innocent schoolchildren. we must respond to those heinous acts and provide justice for the families. at the same time, we recognize that violence occurs in many of our communities on a daily basis, impacting americans across the united states for every background. too often tragedies are politicized for partisan gain. we have seen many seek to leverage these crimes and their victims to push for radical left-wing policies, or to address their campaigns to get elected. instead of rushing to score political points at the expense of our justice system working properly, we must learn from the senseless acts of violence and take concrete action to reduce violence in the future. we owe it to the families of the victims. they deserve justice, we owe it to the american people. we must and can prevent similar tragedies. we all want to live in a country where we can achieve our american dream without the threat of violence in our communities. we must work together to deliver sensible solutions to secure our schools, protect the most vulnerable among us, and bring to justice those responsible for these heinous crimes. our local officials cannot defund our police, and our prosecutors cannot be soft on crime. i believe that we must carefully consider the security posture of vulnerable targets sought out by evil people. we must ensure that every american has a safe environment in which to live their lives in peace. that requires thinking creatively about solutions to harden our infrastructure, in force our existing laws, and work to foster a culture that values conflict resolution and dialogue over violence. i strongly believe that there is an important place for law-abiding gun owners to serve in protecting themselves, their families, and their communities from violence. our second amendment is an important tool in securing our individual rights to self-defense. knee-jerk reactions to oppose gun control policies seek to curtail our constitutional right to bear arms are not the answer. gun ownership is on the rise in america. people want to protect themselves and their families. we should commend all law-abiding gun owners who safely use, store, and carry those firearms. not vilify them for blatantly personal purposes. we also must continue to empower our law enforcement professionals to serve and protect our communities honorably. as i said before, defund the police and soft on crime prosecution policies have been a failure across the board. efforts to divert violent criminals out of the criminal justice system have failed, leading to the victimization of the very communities those policies were promised to help. violent criminals should be in jail, not back on the streets to re-offend and terrorize. we must recommit ourselves to pursuing justice and keeping violent criminals off of our street. thank you, chairwoman maloney, i yield my time. >> the gentleman yields back, i want to clarify that i support the second amendment, i support law-abiding gun owners, i do not support lax gun laws that allow guns to get into the hands of criminals and unstable people. i now recognize the gentlelady from california for a opening statement. >> i represent a community and morning. less than one month ago in lagoon a woods, a gunman locked the doors to the geneva presbyterian church and opened fire on my communities tight wit taiwanese congregation. this was a undeniable tragedy but under different circumstances it could have been unimaginable massacre. unlike the shooters in uvalde and buffalo, the shooter in lagoon a woods did not carry an assault rifle equipped with high capacity magazines, he was armed with 9 mm handguns that forced him to reload. that difference gave a hero, dr. john chang, the chance to stop the carnage. he sacrificed his life to stop the shooter, and his bravery was remarkable. we cannot depend on a heroes bravery to save lives. law enforcement has determined that the gunman was ready to kill every person in the church. had he been armed with a military style assault rifle, he may have done so. there is no telling how many more lives would have been lost. shootings involving assault weapons are six times as deadly as shootings involving handguns. and, when assault weapons are equipped with high capacity magazines or bump stacks the death toll rises even further. california has banned these weapons for years. our laws have saved lives, including members of geneva presbyterian church. congress must follow california's lead. i yield back. >> the lady yields back, i now recognize the gentleman from louisiana, mr. higgins, for an opening statement. >> thank you, madam chair. it is a sober day in congress as we reflect upon the challenges our nation faces. in 2005, as a young cop, i was dispatched to reports of a man down in the street in a part of the city that was crime ridden and dangerous. i found a victim, a teenager. i held the mortal wound on the back of his head and whispered prayer into his ear as his life flowed from his body. he died there, in my arms, on the street. he was killed by an ax handle. i am prayerful for america, i am prayerful for healing and i am prayerful for discernment amongst this body and my colleagues. as a law enforcement officer, i know what it means to swear an oath to protect and serve my community had my nation. and the importance of brigade justice to the families who suffered the hands of evil. it is essential the fundamental freedoms of the first amendment, second amendment, fourth amendment are always protected and preserved by this body. i was sworn as a man, i swore an oath to uphold the constitution of the united states and i will never back down from defending that constitution, including the rights of law-abiding americans to keep and bear arms. madam chair, i thank you for this hearing today and i yield. >> the gentleman yields. now, we will introduce our witnesses. i would like to turn it over to the gentleman from new york, mr. higgins, to introduce our first witness without objection. mr. wagons is authorized to participate in this hearing. he represents buffalo, you are now recognized, mr. hagan's. >> thank you chair and ranking member, the honorable members of the oversight and reform committee. the greek tragic poet escalates says that we suffer our way to wisdom. he says, we suffer our way to wisdom. to live is to suffer, to endure the suffering is to give meaning to the suffering. we have a problem in this country. unless we learn from the tragic events of the last three weeks, who are we as a people? in this brave group of panelists, from two cities that were devastated by destruction beyond human comprehension, we have to find a way to deal with this. in buffalo, the shooting started at 2:30 in the afternoon and was concluded in two minutes and three seconds. one shooter grew, semi automatic weapon, 13 people shot, ten dead. one shooter. if you look for a common denominator and all of these, it is typically someone that should never have had a gun with a high capacity weapon to kill as many people as quickly as possible. zeneta everhart is here. she is a friend and a proud citizen of the city of buffalo. zenata is with us today as the mother of a buffalo mass shooting victim, zaire goodman. desire was working at the tops friendly market that was targeted by a white supremacist racist, deranged gunman. get zaire it's also a colleague in government, zeneta is the director of diversity and inclusion for my friend and colleague, new york state senator tim kennedy. zeneta story is both tragic and magic. with that, it gives me great honor to present to the committee, zeneta everhart. >> think you and after miss ever heart we will hear from dr. roy guerrero, with a pediatrician in uvalde, texas. then, we will hear from miah cerrillo who is a fourth grader at robb elementary school in texas. mia will be sharing her experience in a prerecorded video. her father, miguel, is with us in the room today and will be making brief remarks after her daughter's video. then he will excuse himself. next, we will hear from felix and kimberly rubio who are the parents of lexi rubio, who tragically lost her life in the texas shooting. i now recognize the gentleman from georgia, mr. hice, to introduce our last witness on this panel. >> thank, you madam chair. it is my honor to recognize lucretia hughes. but she is a part of my constituency, an incredibly bright light in our tent district. she has an extremely compelling story, i just wanted to publicly recognize lucretia. i wanted to thank you for being here today, i know it's hard to share the story that you have come to us with, but we are grateful that your hair. and i just, madam chair, wanted to say thank you for just these few seconds to recognize lucretia hughes and welcome her here. i yield back. >> thank you. the witnesses will be unmuted so we can swear them in. please raise your right hands. do you swear or affirm that the testimony you are about to give is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you god? let the record show that the witnesses answered in the affirmative. thank you and, without objection, your written statements will be made part of the record. with that, miss ever heart, you are now recognized for your testimony. please testify, this ever heart. >> thank you, chairwoman. zaire, my son, goodman. my son, or as i like to call him, the kid, was shot and injured by a domestic terrorist at the top's grocery store, where he was an employee in a historically black community on jefferson avenue in buffalo, new york. zaire, the kid, it's now a 21-year-old man, he has pure joy, he is everything that is good in this world. as i sit here before you today, i can hear my son telling me to stop being extra and get to the point. i was going to tell you all a bunch of fluffy, funny stories about zyaire, but i have a message. so, i'll get to the point. as director of diversity and inclusion with new york state senator tom penny's office, stories of gun violence and racism are all too familiar. but now, these stories are zaire stories. these problems literally knocked on my front door. these are issues that, as a country, we do not like to openly discuss. domestic terrorism exist in this country for three reasons. america is inherently violent, this is who we are as a nation. the very existence of this country was founded on violence, hate and racism, with the near annihilation of my native brothers and sisters. my ancestors brought to america through the slave trade where the first currency of america. let me say that again, for the people in the back. my ancestors, the first currency of america, were stripped of their heritage and culture, separated from their families, bargained for on auction blocks. sold, beaten, raped and lynched. yet, i continuously here, after every mass shooting, that this is not who we are as americans and as a nation. hear me clearly. this is exactly who we are. education, majority of what i have learned about african american history i did not learn until i went to college. and i had to choose those classes. why is that? why is african american history not a part of american history? african americans built this country from the ground up. guy ancestors blood is embedded in the soil, we have to change the curriculum in schools across the country so that we may adequately educate our children. reading about history is crucial to the future of this country. learning about other cultures, ethnicities, and religions in school should not be something that is up for debate. we cannot continue to whitewash education, creating generations of children to believe that one race of people are better than the other. our differences should make us curious, not angry. at the end of the day i bleed, you bleed, we are all human. that awful day that will now be a part of the history books, hopefully. let us not forget to add what we teach our children. guns, the 18 year old terrorist who stormed into my community armed with an ar-15, killing ten people and injuring three others received a shotgun from his parents for his 16th birthday. for my son's 15th birthday i bought him a video game, sent headphones, a pizza, and the cake. we are not the same. how and why? and what in the world is wrong with this country? children should not be armed with weapons. parents who provide their children with guns should be held accountable. l