[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 55 (Thursday, April 25, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4184-S4185]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    JUNK GUN VIOLENCE PROTECTION ACT

  Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, along with my colleague from New Jersey, 
Senator Bradley and my colleague from Rhode Island, Senator Chafee, I 
have introduced legislation to ban the production and sale of junk 
guns--or as they are sometimes called, Saturday night specials. My bill 
would take the standards for safety and reliability that are currently 
applied to imported handguns, and apply them to domestically produced 
firearms. It is a simple common sense proposal that deserves the 
support of all Senators.
  I had a meeting with a very special physician today and I want to 
share with my colleagues some of the things that I learned. Dr. Andrew 
McGuire is Director of the Trauma Foundation, a nonprofit organization 
based out of San Francisco General Hospital. The Trauma Foundation has 
a simple goal: keep people out of the emergency room.
  Several years ago, Dr. McGuire was asked to write a policy paper 
aimed at developing strategies to curtail violence in the San Francisco 
area. He concluded that something had to be done to curtail the 
proliferation of handguns. Specifically, he advised banning these 
cheap, poorly constructed junk guns.
  Since then, Dr. McGuire has been on a crusade to educate the country 
about

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the danger of junk guns. He has developed a national network of trauma 
surgeons to spread the word about gun violence. On this issue, we 
should listen to our doctors. They are the ones who see the destruction 
caused by these weapons first hand.
  Some of the statistics Dr. McGuire shared with me were truly 
frightening. Since 1930--when statistics were first recorded--more than 
1.3 million American have died of gunshots. That is more Americans than 
died in all of our wars since the Civil War.
  Two weeks ago, the Children's Defense Fund released a study showing 
that nationwide gunshots were the second leading cause of death among 
children. In California, gunshots are No. 1.
  Let me say that again. Among California children ages 0 to 19, 
gunshots are the single leading cause of death. More die of gunshots 
than automobile accidents or any disease. That is a crisis that I, as a 
Senator from California, cannot overlook.
  We must do something to stop this epidemic of violence. Passing the 
Junk Gun Violence Protection Act, would be an excellent step.

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