[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 138 (Tuesday, October 6, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S11562]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 UNANIMOUS CONSENT REQUEST--S. RES. 264, ESTABLISHING A DAY OF CONCERN 
                   FOR YOUNG PEOPLE AND GUN VIOLENCE

  Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
Judiciary Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. Res. 
264 and that the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration, that 
the resolution and preamble be agreed to en bloc, and the motion to 
reconsider be laid upon the table without intervening action.
  Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard.
  Mrs. MURRAY addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Washington.
  Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I really regret the objection and I rise 
today to really plead with my colleagues to lift the hold on this 
really simple, bipartisan resolution that simply encourages our 
children to stay away from gun violence. I thank my friend and 
colleague, Senator Kempthorne, who has been working with me to try to 
move this resolution.
  In 2 days it will be October 8, the day this resolution calls upon 
the President to establish a Day of National Concern for Young People 
and Gun Violence. In 2 days, the Senate will have missed an opportunity 
to send a message to our kids that gun violence is the wrong way to 
solve problems.
  Fortunately, groups like the National Parent-Teacher Association, 
Mothers Against Violence in America, the American Medical Association, 
and others are spreading the word without our help. They are 
encouraging young people all over this country to sign a pledge and 
promise they--will never take a gun to school; will never use a gun to 
settle a dispute; and will use their influence to prevent friends from 
using guns to settle disputes. That is what this resolution is about.
  Mr. President, this is exactly the message the United States Senate 
should be sending to our children. We want them to make a personal 
commitment against violence. We want them to help convince their 
friends to do the same. We want them to join together to fight against 
youth violence. Just like we should be doing.
  We must pass this resolution. Let me read to you a list of the 
Senators who have committed themselves to establishing this day of 
concern and helping steer kids away from violence: Senators Kempthorne, 
Lautenberg, Smith of Oregon, Kennedy, Baucus, Specter, Robb, Akaka, 
Sarbanes, Chafee, Lieberman, Faircloth, Jeffords, Gorton, Reid of 
Nevada, D'Amato, Daschle, Rockefeller, Kerrey of Nebraska, Lugar, 
Feingold, Bumpers, Abraham, Craig, Collins, Wellstone, Cochran, Grams, 
Graham of Florida, Durbin, Boxer, Hutchison, Levin, Glenn, Moseley-
Braun, Biden, Moynihan, Feinstein, Dodd, Bingaman, Torricelli, Johnson, 
Breaux, Warner, Frist, Inouye, Landrieu, Burns, Kohl, Kerry of 
Massachusetts, Wyden, Conrad, Bumpers, Mikulski, McCain, Snowe, 
Nighthorse Campbell, and Bennett. There are 59 Senators who are 
cosponsors of this simple resolution to prevent gun violence amongst 
our youths.
  We all are convinced the best way to prevent gun violence is by 
reaching out to individual children and helping them make the right 
decisions. This resolution gives parents, teachers, government leaders, 
service clubs, police departments, and others a special day to focus on 
the problems caused by young people and gun violence. October is 
National Crime Prevention Month--the perfect time to center our 
attention on the special needs of our kids and gun violence.
  A Minnesota homemaker, Mary Lewis Grow, developed this idea for a Day 
of Concern for Young People and Gun Violence. This will be the third 
year the Senate has passed a resolution urging kids to take the pledge 
against gun violence. In 1997, 47,000 students in Washington State 
signed the pledge card, as did more than 200,000 children in New York 
City, and tens of thousands more across the country.
  Just think of the lives we could have saved if all students had 
signed--and lived up to--such a pledge last year. Consider that in the 
months between today and the day we demonstrated our concern about 
youth violence last year, we have had an outbreak of school violence. 
Eleven students and two teachers have been killed and more than 40 
students have been wounded in shootings by children. In addition, we 
have lost thousands of children in what has become the all-too-common 
violence of drive-by shootings, drug wars, and other crime and in self-
inflicted and unintentional shootings.
  Last year, Senator Kempthorne and I led the cosponsorship drive of 
this resolution after his 17-year-old neighbor was murdered by a 19-
year-old in a random act of violence in Washington State. Ann Harris' 
parents vowed to transform their grief into an opportunity to help 
teach our young people to care about each other and to stop the 
violence. This month, they are suffering through the trial of her 
accused killer. We should support them.
  Mr. President, we must, absolutely must pass this resolution. I urge 
whomever has a hold on this resolution urging young people to say no to 
gun violence to drop his or her hold and let us send a message from the 
United States Senate to every young person in America: Stop gun 
violence now.
  I yield the floor.

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