[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 97 (Thursday, June 27, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7070-S7071]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       A PLEDGE AGAINST VIOLENCE

  Mr. WELLSTONE. Mr. President, I come here to the floor today to speak 
on a resolution that later will be submitted by Senator Bradley from 
New Jersey. It is a resolution that I intend to submit with him. 
Senator Bradley was unable to be here this morning at this time. I am 
faced with a personal health situation with my daughter back in 
Minnesota, so I do not have any prepared remarks, but I think the 
resolution is important, and I just want to take a minute or two to 
speak about it.
  This is going to be a resolution that deals with asking students 
throughout our country to declare that they will never bring weapons to 
school, that they will not use a weapon to settle disputes, and that 
they will use their influence among their friends to say, ``There's no 
place for guns and violence.''
  As I said, I am not prepared to speak about the resolution at great 
length this morning, but I do think it is important--very important. I 
think the cynical view about such a resolution is, ``Sure, to ask 
students across the country to take such a pledge, how many of them are 
going to do it and is it really going to make any difference at all? 
Those students who bring guns to schools, for a whole myriad of 
reasons, will be the last ones to sign a pledge or who, if they sign a 
pledge, the last ones to ever live by it.''
  I actually think maybe it is the cynicism that we ought to overcome. 
There is a wealth of talent. I am in a school in Minnesota every 2\1/2\ 
to 3 weeks during the school year. There is a wealth of talent and good 
will and positive attitudes in students across our country. We do not 
hear enough about them.
  There are other students who bring guns to school because they feel 
they have no other choice but to protect themselves. Someone has to 
light a candle. Somebody has to light a candle. I think this resolution 
we are going to submit and this pledge effort across the country is 
important, because I think the students are going to be the ones to 
light the candle.
  I think that this resolution and this pledge effort is important 
because it calls upon the students to be their own best selves, and I 
think the students are ready to do so.
  It is really shocking to me that when I am in schools and I ask 
students, ``What are the most important issues to you, what are the 
concerns of your lives; you do not have to be an expert, just tell 
me,'' almost always, whether it is in the inner-city schools or whether 
it is in rural Minnesota or whether it is suburban schools, they say 
violence.
  I do not remember the exact statistics, but I think about every 2 
hours a young person is killed by someone using a gun in our country. I 
think every 4 hours a young person, that is 18 years of age and under, 
takes his or her life. These are pretty devastating statistics for any 
of us in the Senate to accept, for any of us who are parents or 
grandparents to accept, for any other citizens in our country to 
accept.
  I do not know that there is any guarantee of success for this 
resolution that Senator Bradley and I will submit, which will be part 
of a pledge effort around the country. But I think many students are 
willing to step forward and to light a candle. I think there are going 
to be students around the country who will do this as an exemplary 
action.
  You know what, Mr. President, sometimes it just takes a few people to 
step forward and, through their actions, they provoke the hopes and 
aspirations of other people. I think students will step forward and 
will sign this pledge in a lot of different schools across our country, 
in rural and suburban and inner-city schools. I think by doing so, it 
will not be cynical, it will be positive, it will be full of hope, and 
I think a lot of discussion will take place around this effort.
  I think those students who do this first will be setting an example, 
setting a model. I think just by signing the pledge and talking to 
others about signing the pledge, about not bringing guns to school, not 
using guns to settle disputes, taking a nonviolent approach, trying to 
deal with guns and violence among young people, it can be one really 
significant thing for our country.
  I am pleased to speak about this, although today I do not have 
prepared text. When Senator Bradley submits his resolution, I will be 
very proud to submit it with him.
  Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. BRADLEY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

[[Page S7071]]



                     YOUNG PEOPLE AND GUN VIOLENCE

  Mr. BRADLEY. Mr. President, I would like to alert the Senate that in 
the week of July 9, when the Senate returns after the recess, Senator 
Wellstone and I, and a number of other Senators on both sides of the 
aisle, will be submitting a resolution that will designate October 10, 
1996 as a day of national concern about young people and gun violence.
  The announcement, I think, will be broad enough to include all 
segments of the political spectrum in a resolution to urge the 
reduction of gun violence among young people in this country. I believe 
that this is a very important initiative. There will be more 
information to come. This is simply to highlight the point that the 
first week back will be a major effort to get the Senate on record to 
make a very clear statement about young people taking pledges against 
the use of guns in their lives.
  Senator Wellstone spoke about that earlier today in morning business.
  Mrs. BOXER. Will the Senator yield for a question on that point?
  Mr. BRADLEY. Yes.
  Mrs. BOXER. I thank the Senator, and I want to ask him a question. I 
have introduced a bill with the Senator from New Jersey and with the 
Senator from Rhode Island, Senator Chafee, which would essentially 
extend the ban on imported junk guns to junk guns made here. I cannot 
praise the Senator enough for bringing this issue to our attention.
  Is it not true that nationally now the leading cause of death among 
young people from date of birth to age 19 is guns? In my home State of 
California, it is the first leading cause of death.
  Is that the Senator's understanding, and will he, at the time he 
brings this resolution, look at legislation like this, discuss it so 
that the American people can be aware there are things we can do to 
stop the proliferation of these junk guns?
  Mr. BRADLEY. As the Senator from California knows, I agree with her 
and with Senator Chafee wholeheartedly on the handgun issue. But the 
resolution that we will be bringing forward when we come back in July 
is a very simple resolution. It is aimed at young people in the country 
to get them to take action.
  It will establish October 10 as a national observance to counter gun 
violence, and it will ask young people across this country to take a 
pledge that, one, they will never carry a gun to school; two, they will 
never resolve a dispute with a gun; and three, they will try to use 
their influence with their friends to keep them from resolving disputes 
with guns.
  That is the resolution. That is what our hope is that this will 
become a very popular thing in the country among young people; that we 
will begin to see that influence felt across America; that we will have 
cosponsors on both sides of the aisle to make this very clear 
statement.
  I might say, this is an initiative that was started in the State of 
Minnesota, and it was started by some very public-spirited citizens who 
will have a big impact on, I think, the whole history of this country 
if we can get this pledge as popular in schools across this country as 
Reeboks are today or Nikes or any of the other shoes that people want 
to wear when they are younger than you or me.
  Mrs. BOXER. Will the Senator yield for one more question?
  Mr. BRADLEY. Certainly.
  Mrs. BOXER. The reason I have asked the Senator to yield again is 
because I am so pleased about this initiative.
  What the Senator is saying is that responsibility is very key here. 
Clearly, if young people decide it is out of fashion to carry a weapon 
of choice, even though they can still buy one for $25 because they can 
get these junk guns, that will be a tremendous step forward.
  I thank the Senator for bringing it to the Senate's attention, and I 
hope he will add me as a cosponsor to this effort.
  Mr. BRADLEY. I thank the Senator from California. I certainly will. I 
hope that by the time we introduce this resolution in July we will have 
100 cosponsors.
  Mrs. BOXER. I agree.
  Mr. BRADLEY. This is something that should be an unequivocal message 
for anybody in the Senate that cares about gun violence and young 
people in America, which I presume is every Member of the U.S. Senate.
  I thank the Chair and the managers for yielding.
  Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. THOMAS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that further 
proceedings under the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. DeWine). Without objection, it is so 
ordered. The Senator from Wyoming is recognized for 30 minutes.
  Mr. THOMAS. Thank you.

                          ____________________