[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 142 (Tuesday, October 4, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: October 4, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                 HOMICIDES BY GUNSHOT IN NEW YORK CITY

 Mr. MOYNIHAN. Mr. President, this will be my last statement in 
the 103d Congress on the gruesome toll taken by gun violence in New 
York City. Over the past week, there were 16 homicides involving the 
use of firearms, bringing the city's total to 744 so far this year.
  This number is lower than it was at the same time last year. This is 
encouraging news and an illustration of the progress we are making in 
the fight against gun violence. But the number is still shocking, and 
the battle against this public health epidemic is far from won.
  Mr. President, too often we think that gun violence occurs only on 
city streets. Unfortunately, far too many homicides take place right in 
the home. Yet opponents of gun control continue to assert that the 
presence of firearms in the home offers the owner greater protection 
against intrusions and reduces the risk that a death will result in an 
attempted burglary or assault. This is simply not the case.
  According to a recent article by a group of physicians and scholars 
in the September 21, 1994 issue of the Journal of the American Medical 
Association, the mere presence of a gun in the home increases the risk 
that a homicide will result by 1.6 times. According to the same 
article, between 1988 and 1990, 46.7 percent of the 66,578 homicides in 
the United States occurred in the home. This averages out to 5.8 
homicides in the home each day.
  Despite these grim statistics, many still contend that violence in 
the home bears no relation to the presence of firearms. People without 
access to guns, the logic goes, would simply find other weapons to 
achieve their violent ends. Again, this is just not true. According to 
the findings published in the JAMA article, there is absolutely no 
evidence to suggest that any increases in homicides involving other 
weapons in the home result when firearms are not available. Immediate 
access to firearms simply facilitates spontaneous violence that 
otherwise might not occur.
  Mr. President, we must take steps now to reduce the risk of gun 
violence in the home. Only by undertaking prudent gun control measures, 
and by banning or taxing certain rounds of ammunition, can we begin to 
reduce the threat posed by firearms in the home.

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