[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 52 (Tuesday, March 21, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Page S4292]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                 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 during the 
past week, 10 people were murdered by gunshot in New York City, 
bringing this year's total to 130.
  Three weeks ago, I shared with the Senate a letter from Sarah Brady, 
chairman of Handgun Control, Inc., and wife of James Brady, the former 
White House Press Secretary who was critically wounded in the 
assassination attempt against President Reagan. The letter contained 
the results of a joint study by the International Association of Chiefs 
of Police and Handgun Control, Inc., providing convincing evidence that 
the Brady law, which went into effect just over 1 year ago, is doing 
exactly what its proponents had anticipated: keeping guns out of the 
hands of criminals.
  Today I would like to add to this the results of two other studies 
which further attest to the effectiveness of the Brady law. These 
studies, one conducted by the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and 
Firearms, and the other by CBS News, found that background checks 
mandated by the law have prevented as many as 45,000 people from 
illegally purchasing firearms.
  This is no mean achievement. And it is only one of the benefits the 
Brady law has brought us. By substantially raising the fee for a 
Federal Firearms License, the law has also caused a significant decline 
in the number of licensed firearms dealers, which by 1993 had reached 
an astounding 284,000. Few are aware that prior to the Brady law, one 
could obtain a 3-year Federal Firearms License for just $30. Thanks to 
the Brady law, which raised that fee to $200, the number of federally 
licensed dealers has decreased by some 60,000 in just 1 year.
  Mr. President, the Brady law will not in itself cure the problem of 
gun violence. But it is an important step in the right direction and it 
proves that we can make a difference in this fight.


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