WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (MI-12) released the following statement on H.R. 5:

“Gun violence is the leading cause of death for children and teens in our country. If Republicans really wanted to protect our children, instead of passing legislation to ban books, censor school curriculum, and target trans youth, they would be banning assault weapons and passing gun violence prevention.

“Since Columbine over 20 years ago, more than 344,000 students in our country have experienced gun violence at school. Some of our children attend schools with unsafe drinking water. Others go to school in districts attempting to erase Black history from our classrooms by banning books like The Life of Rosa Parks. These are some of the real obstacles to our children thriving.

“When this bill was considered in Committee, Democrats offered amendments that would keep firearms out of classrooms, remove lead pipes from our schools, and prevent censorship of Black history. But every single amendment aimed at the real threats to our children was voted down by these MAGA Republicans.

“This legislation will do nothing but harm our students, especially trans youth, by forcing schools to out LGBTQ+ people even if it will put them in harm’s way. It makes me angry to see how conservatives have weaponized hate and fear to try to tear our schools apart, with students who just want to learn and thrive turned into pawns in their political games.

“Let’s get to work strengthening public education, raising wages for our public school teachers, and passing sensible gun reform legislation that will actually protect our children.”

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