[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 86 (Thursday, June 17, 1999)]
[House]
[Page H4475]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page H4475]]
    REMEMBER MELINDA FLOWERS BY VOTING FOR COMMON-SENSE GUN MEASURES

  (Ms. DeLAURO asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, Melinda Flowers was 4 years old when she 
and her 8 year old sister found a .38-caliber pistol in their mother's 
closet. They did not know the gun was loaded, and they played with the 
gun, pointing it at various items around the room. The gun went off. 
Melinda was fatally shot in the forehead.
  As of today, Melinda Flowers' death will no longer remain anonymous. 
She and the 13 youngsters who die every single day because of guns are 
not nameless, faceless statistics; they are real people, real children 
who are dying from an epidemic.
  Over the course of the next 2 days, Members of this body can choose 
between two options. They can vote for modest, common-sense gun safety 
provisions already approved by the United States Senate, or they can 
vote for a watered-down gun bill.
  The mothers and fathers of this country are consistent in their plea 
for modest gun safety measures. Child safety locks are a simple, 
inexpensive way to prevent accidental deaths and in no way restrict a 
person's right to own a gun. Closing the loophole at gun shows will 
allow law-abiding citizens to get firearms freely, but prevent guns 
from falling into the hands of criminals.
  These are common-sense, modest proposals. Let us do the will of the 
American people. Let us not forget Melinda Flowers.

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