[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 33 (Wednesday, February 22, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Page S2958]
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, as I have done each week 
of the 104th Congress, to announce to the Senate that 14 people were 
killed by gunshot in New York City this past week, bringing the total 
for 1995 to 89.
  Mr. President, in an introduction to a published series of editorials 
on America's gun epidemic, Los Angeles Times editorial writer and 
research director Molly Selvin, writes:

       People do kill people--but they can do it more efficiently, 
     more potently and more massively with guns. And guns, these 
     days, are killing more people on the streets and in the 
     homes, schools and workplaces of America than ever before * * 
     * We can let the gun violence continue unabated, or we can do 
     something and do something dramatic, effective, historic.

  Ms. Selvin is quite correct. It will take dramatic measures to bring 
an end to the plague of gun violence. But the Senator from New York is 
compelled to point out that the solution proposed by the editorial 
series--a near-total ban on ownership and possession of guns--is simply 
not plausible. We have a two-century supply of guns. Unless abused, 
guns last almost indefinitely. Even if we could succeed in banning 
further production and sale of guns, it is unrealistic to think that we 
could reclaim the 200 million guns already in circulation today.
  On the other hand, we have a very limited supply of bullets--perhaps 
only a four-year supply. I have repeatedly attempted to make the case 
that it is here we should focus our attention. By banning or taxing out 
of existence those calibers of bullets used most often in crime, the 
millions of guns already in the hands of criminals would soon be 
rendered useless.
  To date, I have had difficulty convincing the Congress and past and 
present administrations of the merits of ammunition control. But as we 
sit idly by and watch bullets take the lives of nearly 40,000 Americans 
each year, I urge my colleagues to consider this sensible approach.


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