[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 28 (Tuesday, March 15, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: March 15, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                            GUN-FREE SCHOOLS

  Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, in January of this year, before the Senate 
resumed its session, I spent some time here in Washington, DC, sitting 
in the court system, watching the superior court, watching cases, 
watching judges, and watching defendants. I also visited some inner 
city schools, and visited some welfare offices here in the District of 
Columbia. The reason I did that is that those of us who come from rural 
areas understand rural America, and we must live in a city in order to 
serve in the U.S. Senate. So we are in both places. But although we 
live here and work here during the week, often we do not know very much 
about what is happening in the city; especially in the Nation's 
Capital.
  One of the high schools I visited was just blocks from this 
building--Eastern High, a wonderful school with a principal for whom I 
have great respect. I visited the school and sat in the classrooms, 
talked to teachers, talked to students, asked students about their 
lives, many of whom come from low-income housing projects and, I am 
sure, have a fairly difficult life.
  Last week, at Eastern High School, there was a shooting inside the 
school down in the cafeteria where I had visited. Apparently, one young 
man bumped another young man, and because of that bumping, a pistol was 
pulled and, I believe, four shots were fired, and the young man was 
sent to the hospital in critical condition.
  This is not in a combat zone, this is in a school just blocks from 
the Capitol, a school where there is substantial discipline and the 
principal is acknowledged as one of the great principals in this city. 
And because I visited that school personally not many weeks ago, I 
understood the newspaper account when they talked about the value of 
that principal and what he was trying to do in that school. Yet, 
despite all of that, even in that school, there was a shooting on 
school property during the school day.
  The reason I mention that, Mr. President, is we recently passed in 
the Senate a bill called Goals 2000, which was an educational measure, 
which is now going to conference. I offered, an amendment to that 
legislation called ``Guns-Free Schools.'' The purpose of my amendment--
which is an amendment offered also on the House side by Congressman 
Miller from California and Congressman Durbin from Illinois--is to say 
that we ought to, by policy, decide that every school district in this 
country should have a policy, and the policy should be: You shall not 
bring a gun to school.
  It sounds pretty simple. The fact is that too many guns are being 
brought to school. One would think that the streets are unsafe. If you 
read the paper and watch the news, you understand that in some parts of 
our major cities, streets are unsafe. But you would not expect to send 
your kids to school and have a kid shot on school property during the 
school day. We ought to make sure that everybody in this country 
understands--students and school administrators--that you do not bring 
a gun to school. If you do, you are going to be expelled for a year, 
period.
  I offered, with Senator Feinstein from California and several others, 
this amendment, which was adopted by the Senate and is now part of 
Goals 2000. It does have a caveat that while we want a national policy 
that says if you bring a gun to school, you are expelled for a year; we 
will allow local school authorities to apply an exception where an 
exception might be warranted under unusual circumstances. As someone 
raised on the floor, there was a concern about someone having somebody 
else slip a gun into their backpack, or a hunting rifle being brought 
to school. We want the school authority to be able to make an 
exception. But by and large, we want a policy in States across the 
country that school districts must have in policy a proviso that, if 
you bring a gun to school, you are going to be expelled for a year.
  The reason I took the floor to mention this today is because that was 
attached to Goals 2000, which is now going to be in conference. I would 
like the conferees to leave that in the bill as it comes back to the 
Senate. If you need any more evidence, pick up last week's paper and 
look at the school closest to this Capitol, Eastern High School, and 
see that in the middle of the day, in the middle of the school, a kid 
pulls a gun and shoots another kid. We have a problem, and we ought to 
address it.
  Every child who goes to school in this country ought to understand 
that you do not, under any circumstances, bring a gun to school. 
Period.
  I walked into that school, Eastern High School, which is a good 
school and has been a model with a great principal. Do you know what 
you do when you go through the school? You walk through a metal 
detector, in fact a couple of metal detectors. Then you see security 
guards. This school was prepared.
  In my hometown of 300 people, with a high school class of nine when I 
graduated and it is about that size now, there are no metal detectors. 
We have a different set of circumstances in small towns.
  Here you go through a metal detector and are watched by security 
guards.
  So on I went through those metal detectors. The principal, whose name 
is Ralph Neal, is a well-respected principal. He showed me through the 
school. I was impressed. He has a tough job. It is made much tougher 
when kids are able to bring guns into school and one kid bumps another 
one and it ends with one getting shot on school property during the 
school day.
  We can send a message all across this country, it seems to me, in an 
appropriate way in Goals 2000 by retaining the amendment Senator 
Feinstein and I, as well as others, added that every school district 
must have a policy, if a student brings a gun to the school they are 
expelled for a year.
  That, in my judgment, will advance the interest of making sure we are 
not bringing the violence from the streets to the schools, or 
countenance violence moving from the streets to the schools. The school 
ought to be one place where young boys and girls spend their day safe.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator yields the floor.
  Mr. HOLLINGS. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded for call the roll.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. LEAHY addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Chair will observe that, under the 
previous order, the Senate was supposed to recess at the hour of 12:30.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to be recognized as 
if in morning business for 5 minutes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. LEAHY. I thank the Chair.
  (The remarks of Mr. Leahy pertaining to the introduction of S. 1930 
are located in today's Record under ``Statements on Introduced Bills 
and Joint Resolutions.'')
  Mr. DOLE. Madam President, is leaders' time reserved?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Leaders' time has been reserved.

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