[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 84 (Tuesday, June 15, 1999)]
[House]
[Page H4231]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  KYLE HIRONS WOULD BE ALIVE TODAY IF A GUN HAD BEEN EQUIPPED WITH A 
                              SAFETY LOCK

  (Ms. DeLAURO asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, not long ago a 15-year-old boy from 
Glastonbury, Connecticut, found a loaded .357 magnum in the bedroom 
drawer of one of his parents. In the midst of playing, the gun 
accidentally went off, shooting the boy in the face and killing him. 
The boy's name was Kyle Hirons. Today is the last day Kyle's death will 
remain anonymous.
  I invoke the Kyle Hirons because he is one of the 13 children who die 
every day because of guns. These are not nameless, faceless statistics. 
They are real people. They are our children. In this case, one more 
child would be alive today if the gun had been equipped with a safety 
lock. And yet there are forces in this country, in this very body, who 
would undermine modest gun safety legislation that would protect our 
children.
  This week, we can take steps. We can pass the Senate provisions and 
require gun child safety locks and devices. We can close the loophole 
at gun shows, and we can eliminate high-capacity, human-hunting 
ammunition clips.
  Our kids are dying of an epidemic. The epidemic is unsafe guns. Let 
us pass sensible measures that make guns as safe as possible.

                          ____________________