[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 29 (Tuesday, February 14, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Page S2668]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                 HOMICIDES BY GUNSHOT IN NEW YORK CITY

 Mr. MOYNIHAN. Mr. President, I rise today to continue my 
weekly practice of reporting to the Senate on the death toll by gunshot 
in New York City. Last week, 7 people were killed by firearms in New 
York City, bringing this year's total to 75.
  With over 16,000 murders by gunshot nationally each year, we 
obviously have a long way to go in our efforts to curb the plague of 
gun violence. To be sure, we've made some progress, particularly with 
passage of the Brady law and the recent ban on semiautomatic assault 
weapons. Unfortunately, there is a powerful lobby working against us. 
If any one doubts this, they need only look at the most recent 
congressional elections. The National Rifle Association's $3.2 million 
campaign to defeat targeted congressional candidates proved successful 
in 19 of 24 races.
  We must continue to fight the gun lobby. Efforts at the national 
level will continue to be difficult, and we must enlist the help of 
States and localities. Indeed, some States and localities have already 
taken important steps. Last year, for instance, the city of Chicago 
became the first in the Nation to ban the sale of all handgun 
ammunition. In addition, as reported in a New York Times article late 
last year, police departments in two other cities, Indianapolis and 
Kansas City, have mounted successful campaigns to rid their streets of 
guns. Simply by vigorously enforcing infractions of the law that give 
them the legal basis to search individuals, police in these two cities 
have confiscated an impressive number of illegal guns. In the first 3 
weeks of the program in Indianapolis, special police teams seized an 
AK-47 rifle, a Mac 10 semiautomatic weapon, a Glock 19 semiautomatic 
pistol, and a host of other illegal guns. In Kansas City, which has 
already completed a 6-month gun-interception experiment, gun-related 
crimes declined by almost 50 percent in the area in which the program 
was implemented.
  These are by no means novel approaches. In fact, New York City's 
Police Commissioner William Bratton adopted similar methods when he 
headed the city's transit police. In an effort to crack down on the 
thousands of fare-evaders on the city's subway system each day, Bratton 
directed sweep teams to apprehend these illegal passengers. As it turns 
out, 1 in 20 of those passengers carried illegal weapons. The resulting 
arrests led to a 48-percent decline in subway crimes.
  I commend the efforts of the cities of Chicago, Indianapolis, and 
Kansas City to the attention of Senators, and I hope the Senate will 
consider gun control and ammunition control legislation in the near 
future.


                          ____________________