Youth Violence in the 109th Congress and Beyond
While serving the 33rd Congressional District of California, I have been saddened by the number of violent acts of crime committed by youth in the City and County of Los Angeles. I realize that no longer can we pretend that this is someone else's problem. It is ours. During the 108th Congress I began the process of helping eliminate this criminal behavior in my Congressional District and beyond. During this Congress I put the ongoing problem of youth violence at the forefront of my agenda. It is my duty to focus full attention on this topic as it continues to festers our society. I started convening a series of dialogues to search for solutions and help eradicate violence in our communities.
- The first dialogue was held at the University of Southern California and included elected officials, law enforcement, clergy, community based organizations, youth agencies, health professionals, to name a few. These community leaders served as panelists and responders while giving expert opinions and advice that I will utilize in Congress for solutions to menacing the problem.
- The second dialogue was with the student councils of Dorsey, Crenshaw, Los Angeles, Whitney Young, View Park, Duke Ellington, and Manuel Arts High Schools at the FAME Renaissance Center in Los Angeles. I wanted to hear "from the horse's mouth" how violence is killing their schools and communities. The student leaders shared their perspectives and experiences concerning the steady increase in violence and crime committed by young people, with the intention of identifying profiles and motivations, and developing interventions to reduce violence by diverting at-risk youth into positive endeavors. The students were asked for their input on a number of topics including major contributing factors to youth violence, the impact of violence on their community and society, successful anti-violence interventions, and the impact of the media.
- During this Congress, I plan on holding four more summits on youth violence in our Congressional District focusing on the impact of the media, education, and law enforcement on youth violence in our communities. The summits will culminate with a wrap-up session where youth and community leaders can coordinate a positive proactive approach from the views heard at previous summits to help in the ongoing movement of eradicating our communities of this deadly problem.
- During the 109th Congress, I co-sponsored legislation that would lower levels of youth violence: stricter school dress codes; more sports programs, after-school and extra-curricular activities; internships; jobs; anger management; and mentoring but my job is not over. The key to preventing, or stemming the increase of youth violence is to understand where and when it occurs, what causes it, and which strategies for prevention and intervention are most effective. With the input I have gotten form these dialogues during this Congress; I have taken an important first step in helping rid the problems of crime in our communities. I look forward to spearheading legislation and helping community entities that will help us help each other in ridding youth violence from our lives.
In addition to legislative sponsorship in the 109th Congress, I introduced two amendments to H.R. 1279—A bill to reduce violent gang crime and protect law-abiding citizens and communities from violent criminals, that passed the House in early May:
- The first amendment would add additional inspectors to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives to be assigned to serve in high intensity interstate gang activity areas of which Los Angeles County is a part of. This amendment would also allow local law enforcement agencies to liberty to provide more accurate and complete reports ti the Bureau of weapons used by gangs in the area. The lack of proper inspections and detailed reports on how guns get into the hands of gangs members hampers the fight against these violent gangs. Congress must assist the Bureau by allowing it to have an adequate amount of staff to accurately investigate how illegal guns are getting into our communities and make every effort to remove weapons from gang members hands.
- The second amendment would require the Attorney General to consult local elected officials along with state and federal official before designating an area as a high intensity gang activity area. The communities affected by gang violence must have the chance to express their views before neighborhoods are classified as a High Intensity Gang Area. Local officials know better than anyone else what is occurring on a day to day basis in their jurisdictions. This amendment would allow participation on all levels of government in this designation process.
The bill currently awaits movement in the Senate and I am hopeful that these amendments will be attached to the bill and will be one of many step forward in reducing the number of violent crimes committed by youth in Los Angeles.
While putting this topic at the forefront of my agenda, I have realized that the lack of extra-curricular activities, gang activity, poor role models, poverty, and racism are the precursors to this on-going plague of youth violence in Los Angeles. It is with the utmost conviction, which I will continue to pursue community participation in ending the violence that plagues the lives of our children. As a former educator, I realize the uphill battle that we face. I will continue to support the legislative resources as well community involvement for reducing youth violence. These two dialogues along with the various pieces of legislation I supported and amended are the first of many efforts to collectively use all resources to address the issue of youth violence in our communities. I plan on using the expertise of these dialogues and future ones to develop in the 33rd Congressional and on Capitol Hill viable solutions and effective alternatives to this very disastrous problem.