[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 144 (Monday, October 12, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S12400-S12401]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      DAY OF NATIONAL CONCERN ABOUT YOUNG PEOPLE AND GUN VIOLENCE

  Mr. JEFFORDS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
Judiciary Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. Res. 
264, and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The clerk 
will report.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 264) to designate October 8, 1998, as 
     the Day of National Concern About Young People and Gun 
     Violence.


[[Page S12401]]


  The Senate proceeded to consider the resolution.
  Mr. JEFFORDS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
resolution and the preamble be agreed to, en bloc, the motion to 
reconsider be laid upon the table, and that any statements related 
thereto be placed in the Record at the appropriate place.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The resolution (S. Res. 264) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:

                              S. Res. 264

       Whereas every day in America, 15 children under the age of 
     19 are killed with guns;
       Whereas in 1994, approximately 70 percent of murder victims 
     aged 15 to 17 were killed with a handgun;
       Whereas in 1995, nearly 8 percent of high school students 
     reported having carried a gun in the past 30 days;
       Whereas young people are our Nation's most important 
     source, and we, as a society, have a vested interest in 
     helping children grow from a childhood free from fear and 
     violence into healthy adulthood;
       Whereas young people can, by taking responsibility for 
     their own decisions and actions, and by positively 
     influencing the decisions and actions of others, help chart a 
     new and less violent direction for the entire Nation;
       Whereas students in every school district in the Nation 
     will be invited to take part in a day of nationwide 
     observance involving millions of their fellow students, and 
     will thereby be empowered to see themselves as significant 
     agents in a wave of positive social change; and
       Whereas the observance of this day will give American 
     students the opportunity to make an earnest decision about 
     their future by voluntarily signing the ``Student Pledge 
     Against Gun Violence'', and sincerely promise that 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: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That--
       (1) the Senate designates October 8, 1998, as ``the Day of 
     National Concern About Young People and Gun Violence''; and
       (2) the President should be authorized and requested to 
     issue a proclamation calling upon the school children of the 
     United States to observe that day with appropriate ceremonies 
     and activities.

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