[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 19 (Monday, February 28, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: February 28, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                            CRIME IN AMERICA

  (Ms. DeLAURO asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, today the Brady law goes into effect. It 
requires a 5 day waiting period on the purchase of handguns and is a 
good first step in our fight to get guns out of the hands of criminals 
and off of our streets. And, it is a first step we must take, for our 
country, for our future, and for our children.
  This month in my home town of New Haven, CT, a 7-month-old child was 
shot to death while sitting in a stroller in her grandmother's living 
room. A 7-month-old baby. The murder of Danielle Taft, left our 
community outraged and deeply saddened.
  In New Haven and across this country, the list of young victims of 
handgun violence grows. I have talked to children whose parents won't 
let them play outside because they fear they may be killed. Other 
children tell of going to bed at night to the sound of gunfire. This 
has got to stop. Fear of death should not govern childhood. Gunfire is 
not an acceptable lullaby.
  Taking guns off our streets is a critical first step to returning our 
neighborhoods to the people who live there. And, to the children who 
play there.

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