Bill Clinton

“ For them and for all of us, it is past time to end the violence.
At younger and younger ages, boys and girls are turning to gangs. For a child without an involved family, a gang offers a feeling of belonging. For a young person without options for tomorrow, a gang offers a sense of purpose. For all those born in a home cordoned off against danger, with bars on the windows and chains on the doors, life on the streets seems all too often a taste of freedom they have never known. ”

“ With strong measures of discipline and training, drug treatment and education, this bill takes on the sickness of gangs and drugs and gives our young people a new chance at life. Ours is important work: It is about trying to save a generation of children and to secure the future life of a country. It is a job we can surely do.
Ours remains the greatest Nation the world has ever known because we have not shied away from challenges. Rather, we have consistently sought to surmount them. The problem of gang violence is among the most profound we as a people have ever faced. ”

“ Our first, best hope is in the common cause of those around us. A community that shares life's experiences can be an important source of strength and understanding in a world that seems filled with growing violence and diminishing hope. ”