[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 50 (Thursday, April 18, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3613-S3614]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  CONGRESS MUST STOP JUNK GUN VIOLENCE

  Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, in 1968, Senator Robert Kennedy was 
assassinated in California by an assailant carrying a junk gun. That 
terrible event convinced Congress that something had to be done about 
the dramatic increase in gun violence. Specifically, Congress concluded 
that it had to act to stem the proliferation of these junk guns, or as 
they are also known, Saturday night specials.
  Later that year, Congress passed the Gun Control Act of 1968, which 
barred the importation of junk guns. The guns affected by the import 
ban had several things in common: They were cheap. They were poorly 
constructed, and they lacked important safety devices.
  Shortly after the passage of the Gun Control Act, unintended 
consequences began to emerge. Many new companies were formed to 
manufacture junk guns domestically. Protected from foreign competition 
and given a virtual monopoly over the U.S. market, the domestic 
production of junk guns skyrocketed. In fact, all of the companies that 
produce today's criminals' favorite junk guns were founded after 1968.
  In 1972, Congress tried to end the double standard that allows the 
domestic manufacture of junk guns. Sixty eight Senators--including Bob 
Dole and Strom Thurmond--voted to close the loophole permanently. 
Unfortunately, despite its more than two to one support in the Senate, 
that bill was killed in a House committee.
  Along with my cosponsors, John Chafee and Bill Bradley, I have 
introduced legislation, S. 1654, that is closely modeled after that 
1972 bill.
  The principle of that bill that passed the Senate so overwhelmingly 
nearly 25 years ago and the bill I have introduced is simple: if a gun 
is such a great threat to public safety that its importation is banned, 
then its domestic manufacture should also be prohibited. Its point of 
origin is irrelevant.
  By every measure, the problem of gun violence has grown worse since 
passage of the Gun Control Act. This indisputable fact was most 
recently demonstrated in the release last week of a study by the 
Children's Defense

[[Page S3614]]

Fund. Among CDF's findings was the chilling statistic that a child dies 
from gunfire every 92 minutes in the United States. And over the last 
10 years, the rates of child gun deaths have nearly doubled.
  A Center for Disease Control survey found that on an average day, 1 
in 20 high school students carries a gun to school. But it is not just 
a high school problem. A few years ago in San Francisco, a 7 year old 
second grader was suspended for bringing his mother's junk gun to 
school, where he threatened to shoot a classmate.
  What can we do to fight this problem? One Step is to end this junk 
gun double standard.
  In my State of California, a bill to prohibit the manufacture and 
sale of junk guns passed the State senate last year, but was blocked in 
an assembly committee in January.
  However, this is a problem that the U.S. Congress created, and it is 
one that the Congress should fix. Clearly, a nationwide ban would be 
the most effective way to keep these firearms out of the hands of 
criminals.
  My bill applies prospectively only. It does not affect any guns 
currently in circulation.
  I am proud that my legislation has been endorsed by the California 
Police Chiefs Association and the chiefs of some of California's 
largest cities including Willie Williams of Los Angeles, Fred Lau of 
San Francisco, Art Venegas of Sacramento, and Louis Cobarruviaz of San 
Jose. In all, 27 California police chiefs and sheriffs have endorsed my 
legislation. It has also been endorsed by the Coalition to Stop Gun 
Violence, a leading national antiviolence organization.
  I am introducing this measure at the same time that Congress is 
moving backward on gun issues by reopening the assault weapons ban. I 
am confident that with the leadership of President Clinton, Senators 
Dianne Feinstein, Paul Simon and others, we will defeat efforts to roll 
back our progress on assault weapons, but I believe that just holding 
our ground is not enough. We must continue to move forward.
  What is a junk gun? There are many differences between models, but 
they have certain traits in common. They are small and light, which 
make them highly concealable. They are made of inferior materials like 
zinc, instead of higher quality metal alloys. And they lack important 
safety features that can help prevent accidental shootings. Junk guns 
are cheap--some can be bought for as little as $69. The most striking 
feature in common is that junk guns are used disproportionately in 
crimes.
  One recent study conducted by the U.C. Davis Violence Prevention 
Center found that junk guns are 3.4 times as likely to be used in 
crimes as are other firearms. This view was confirmed by Chief Ronald 
Lowenberg, president of the California Police Chiefs' Association who 
wrote to me, ``There is no doubt that `Saturday Night Specials' are 
disproportionately represented in homicides and other crimes.'' 
According to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, of the 10 
guns most frequently traced at crime scenes, 8 are junk guns.
  Junk guns' price and concealability--the factors that make them so 
attractive to criminals--are also the factors that make them unsuitable 
for general use.
  What about junk guns for hunting and target shooting? According to 
firearms experts, they are totally unsuitable because of low accuracy 
and high failure rates. And what about home and self protection? Again, 
junk guns are ill suited for the job. These guns are inaccurate, poorly 
constructed, and lacking important safety features. Keeping a junk gun 
in the house is an invitation to disaster.
  I know of one case in which a man was killed when his gun fell from 
its holster as he bent over to get a drink of water from a fountain. In 
another case, a man was critically injured when a junk gun he kept in 
his car fired when the car hit a bump in the road. These tragedies 
could have been prevented if these junk guns had better safety 
features.
  I plan to fight hard for this bill, and I am confident that with the 
strong support of law enforcement and citizens' groups around the 
country, we will prevail.

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