[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 29 (Wednesday, March 16, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: March 16, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
            INTRODUCING THE SAFE PUBLIC HOUSING ACT OF 1994

                                 ______


                             HON. RON WYDEN

                               of oregon

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 16, 1994

  Mr. WYDEN. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to introduce the Safe Public 
Housing Act of 1994. Across America over 3 million of our citizens live 
in public housing projects and most live in fear. In too many public 
housing communities, the children cannot go safely outside to play, and 
the residents can't sit on their stoops to visit. At bedtime, the doors 
are bolted and the beds placed strategically far from windows that 
might be shattered by stray bullets.
  The fact is that the rate of violent crime and drug offenses is far 
higher in public housing than in other neighborhoods. In a Rand 
Corporation report, researchers found that public housing often had 
between 2 to 6 times as much violent crime as surrounding 
neighborhoods.
  No American deserves to live in this state of siege. Like most 
Americans, the majority of public housing residents are law-abiding 
citizens. They want a safer community, and they deserve one. Several 
years ago, residents of Columbia Villa, a troubled public housing 
development in Portland, OR, approached my staff about what might be 
done to control gun violence in their community. Other public housing 
communities across the country have also wrestled with this problem, 
and this is why Congressman John Lewis and I have worked with public 
housing residents from across the country to fashion a new approach for 
increasing safety.
  Our approach is straightforward: Empower residents to reduce gun 
violence in their communities. Give residents the power to take back 
control of their lives, and get out from under the scourge of gun 
violence and crime. Give residents the right to make their community 
gun-free, and keep non-resident criminals from terrorizing communities. 
Give residents the opportunity to secure the most basic civil right--
safety in their community. Give the children in these communities the 
right to have a full life.
  Under our proposal, residents could petition the housing authority to 
hold a referendum on banning and restricting guns. The housing 
authority would be required to hold a vote on either banning guns 
completely or requiring gun or gun owner registration. If the vote 
passes, then the gun ban will be triggered in the resident's lease 
after 30 days and a violation will cause the lease to be terminated.
  After a vote for a gun ban or restriction provision, all non-
residents will be banned from bringing firearms onto the premises of a 
public housing project. The penalty for a non-resident violation of the 
ban would be up to 5 years in prison or a fine of up to $5,000. Too 
often it is the non-residents who prey on the residents and bring 
violence into the public housing communities.
  Additionally, resources needed to enforce a gun ban--such as metal 
detectors and gun lockers--will be made an eligible expense under the 
Drug Elimination Program.
  Some have inquired as to whether such a measure is constitutional. 
The evidence clearly indicates that it is. In Richmond, VA, and in 
Portland, ME, Federal and State courts have upheld gun bans imposed by 
the management. According to the American Law Division of the 
Congressional Research Service, since public housing developments 
receive substantial funding from the Federal Government and given the 
scope of the commerce clause to regulate items carried interstate, the 
Federal Government has a sufficient jurisdiction to regulate guns in 
public housing.
  Even though gun bans in public housing are constitutional, without 
our proposed law a State or local government could pass a law 
overriding gun restrictions imposed in public housing. This has already 
been attempted in Virginia. This legislation would preempt such State 
and local laws.
  Finally, we have been asked ``What about residents who are trying to 
control their own destiny by keeping guns for their own safety?''
  I believe this was best answered by a Lieutenant with the Portland 
police in my hometown. Lt. John Hren with the neighborhood response 
team at Iris Court in Portland, OR, said, ``That's an issue the 
residents have to face when they choose to vote. The question is, do 
they want to give up their right to have that protection in exchange 
for the law that says anyone in the complex with a gun is subject to 
arrest.'' I urge my colleagues to support this bill and to give 
residents of public housing some choices on how to rid their 
communities of gun violence.

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