[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 28 (Thursday, March 6, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H772]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           HANDGUNS AND KIDS

  (Mr. BLAGOJEVICH asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BLAGOJEVICH. Mr. Speaker, in Chicago on Monday, a man named 
Stephen Young told me that his oldest son had been killed by an 18-
year-old with a handgun.
  His son, Andrew, had earned the national ranking in speed skating and 
planned to attend a Chicago area tech school this fall. But the 18-
year-old with the handgun put a stop to that outside a neighborhood 
fruit market. Andrew's father said, I was really looking forward to 
knowing him as a man. But the 18-year-old with the handgun put a stop 
to that as well.
  Mr. Speaker, 18-year-old males have the highest arrest rates for 
weapons offenses, but Federal law still allows them to possess 
handguns. It is time we in Congress put a stop to that. In the memory 
of Andrew Young and the countless others who have fallen victim to gun 
violence, I am proud to introduce a bill that would make it illegal for 
anyone under 21 to possess a handgun.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in stopping the lethal mix of kids 
and guns.

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