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From YouTube: Councilmember Jones' Floor Remarks on Gun Violence and Other Challenges Facing Philadelphia Youth 11
Description
From the Stated Meeting of Philadelphia City Council held Thursday, November 14, 2019:
Councilmember Curtis Jones, Jr. (4th District) makes remarks on the floor regarding his "Reg Flag" gun safety bill (passed earlier in the session), gun violence and other public safety challenges facing Philadelphia youth.
Read Bill No. 190553: https://phila.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=3514168&GUID=63066D9A-B809-4205-AE19-079C1F938CCC&Options=ID|Text|&Search=180553
A
I
want
to
reiterate
that
those
bills
aren't
as
sexy
as
bike
lanes
and
bedbugs,
but
they
are
designed
to
protect
our
babies
that
over
the
last
twenty
three
days,
six
young
children
were
victims
of
gun
violence,
seven-year-old
two
ten-year-olds
an
eleven
year
old
and
a
two
year
old
and
11
months.
Since
2015
twenty-eight
children,
28
children
under
the
age
of
10
had
been
victims
of
gun
violence.
Note
the
victims
are
getting
younger
and
the
shooters
are
getting
younger.
A
Today,
this
body
passed
and
thanks
to
my
colleague,
councilman
Johnson
and
yourself
and
Maria
Sanchez,
a
transfer
ordinance
that
would
help
increase
funding
of
five
million
dollars
towards
anti-gun
violence
measures
to
prevent
those
kinds
of
violence.
I
want
to
state
here
and
now
that
debt
is
a
floor
and
not
a
ceiling
that
that
is
a
floor
and
not
a
ceiling.
I
want
us
to
also
understand
that
in
context,
one
of
our
jobs
is
to
set
priorities
for
budget
23.
A
227
million
is
going
to
streets
which
will
include
you
know
that
article
about
safer
streets
and
bike
lanes
and
those
kinds
of
things
which
I
support
vision,
zero
6.5
million
dollars
over
the
next
six
years
to
make
sure
that
we
are
a
litter
free
city.
The
Health
Department
is
dealing
with
the
opioid
crisis.
Even
the
Animal
Control
Center
is
getting
4.2
million
dollars
worth
of
contract
to
take
care
of
dogs.
A
A
We
need
to
pay
attention
to
during
the
budget
process,
because
I
intend
to,
along
with
my
colleagues,
ask
each
and
every
department
what
you
are
doing
to
make
our
babies
safer,
whether
you're
hiring
people
in
the
streets
department
to
work
on
fleet
management
or
whether
you're
doing
ground
zero
to
clean
up
lots
that
become
crime
scenes.
What
are
you
doing
to
contribute
to
our
public
safety
there
over?
As
you
know,
mr.
president,
three
hundred-plus
city-owned
cameras.
A
We
went
to
other
places,
other
municipalities,
Baltimore
Chicago
other
places
to
examine
best
practices.
One
of
the
best
practices
is
live
eyes
on
cameras
because
live
eyes
prevent
crime
as
opposed
to
cleaning
up
after
it.
We
need
to
find
a
way
to
fund
more
virtual
patrol
areas
where
either
a
retired
citizen
or
trained
up
civilian
looks
at
those
cameras
and
says
this
is
about
to
go
down
and
we're
going
to
prevent
it,
not
just
memorialize
it.
That's
number
one
number
two.
A
If
I
had
my
way
in
the
magic
ronbo
or
a
little
bit
of
money,
we
need
to
create
more
credible
messengers.
I
was
from
again
I
went
back
up
on
my
corner
the
other
day
and
none
of
them
remembered
me.
I
am
but
a
poster
on
a
billboard
now
so
credible
messengers
that
are
closer
to
the
scenes
in
South,
Philly,
North,
Philly
and
and
all
of
our
city
should
be
employed
to
be
intervenors
in
these
situations.
A
Young
Kenyatta
is
having
problems
based
on
the
post-traumatic
stress
of
losing
a
loved
one,
and
it's
we
need
to
prevent,
as
opposed
to
just
clean
up
after
the
mayor
went
to
the
rock
to
block
festivities.
We
had
on
a
300
block
of
Edgewood
now,
which
I
appreciate
we
went
door-to-door.
We
fixed
up
cleaned
up,
painted,
put
new
sockets
in
seniors
houses
over
35
properties
there,
but
also
a
hundred
over
time.
I
encourage
all
my
district
colleagues
in
at-large
to
look
at
doing.
A
This
is
a
it's
a
it's
a
good
hit,
but
in
one
of
the
doors
we
knocked
on-
and
this
was
on
a
block-
I
was
born
on
300
block
of
Edgewood.
A
young
man
opened
the
door
and
he
had
two
brothers
quick
look.
You
could
see.
One
of
them
had
a
ankle
monitor
on
the
mayor,
came
up
and
engaged
start
talking
to
him
and
really
I
mean
not
just
hi
I'm
Bob,
but
really
engaged
with
them.
A
He
promised
to
intervene
in
their
lives,
said:
listen,
I'm,
gonna,
get
you
down
we're
going
to
do
an
assessment
of
what
your
needs
are.
We're
going
to
find
you
jobs,
we're
gonna,
save
you
guys,
I
get
a
call
from
the
mayor.
Distressed
like
you
know
anybody
who
really
knows
him.
He
can
get
elevated
blood
levels
and
pressure.
He
said
the
young
men
didn't
show
up
what
the
heck
did
it
at.
He
said
some
other
choice,
words,
but
he
they
didn't
show
up
to
the
thing.
A
Can
you
find
them
so
I
go
back
to
the
block,
knock
on
the
door
and
they
open
the
door
now
I'm,
you
know,
I
told
him
and
I
asked
them
why
they
didn't
show
up.
He
said
the
old
head
across
the
street
said
that
we
were
doing
that
just
for
the
cameras.
There
was
a
couple
of
days
before
election
and
that's
the
only
reason
why
we
were
there
and
that
probably
that
opportunity
was
not
real
their
faith
in
us
doing
something
from
our
heart,
for
them
is
waning.