[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 148 (Wednesday, November 30, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: November 30, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                          DEADLY GANG VIOLENCE

 Mr. SIMON. Mr. President, while gang violence has been a 
national problem for decades, it has become even more deadly in recent 
years. In place of the knife and chain rumbles of the 950s, today's 
gangs are heavily armed with automatic weapons capable of mass 
destruction. A recent report from the National Institute of Justice 
(NIJ) on Street Gang Crime in Chicago details over a three-year period, 
1987-1990, the role of guns, especially automatic and semiautomatic 
weapons, in the dramatic increase in lethal killings of young people in 
Chicago.
  This report concludes that a gun was the lethal weapon used in almost 
all gang-motivated homicides. Use of high-caliber, automatic, or 
semiautomatic weapons dramatically increased. Overall the number of 
street gang-motivated homicides increased from 51 in 1987 to 101 in 
1990. The number killed with an automatic or semiautomatic (any 
caliber) or with a nonautomatic gun of 38 caliber or higher increased 
from 24 to 70. The report concludes that virtually the entire increase 
in the number of street gang-motivated homicides seems attributable to 
an increase in the use of high-caliber, automatic, or semiautomatic 
weapons.
  Unfortunately, the trend in Chicago is not unique. The use of high-
power weapons by street gangs is a nationwide problem, with suburban 
and rural areas reporting increasing incidences of gang-related 
violence. At the same time, the NRA is taking credit for the defeat of 
some of the legislators who courageously voted for the Brady law and 
the assault weapons ban. And many in Congress are talking about an 
effort to repeal those important initiatives. This is not the time to 
backpedal. Our young people, both gang members and innocent bystanders, 
are literally being gunned down on the streets of our communities. We 
must stand up to those who would do nothing. We must follow the policy 
advice in the NIJ report: reduce the availability of the most dangerous 
weapons.
  Mr. MOYNIHAN. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum, as 
there may be somebody else coming to speak in morning business.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. MOYNIHAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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