[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 86 (Thursday, June 17, 1999)]
[House]
[Page H4476]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            LET US PASS LEGISLATION TO PROTECT OUR CHILDREN

  (Mr. CROWLEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. CROWLEY. Madam Speaker, when I visit schools and community 
centers and meet with parents at Little League games and picnics 
throughout my Congressional District, I constantly hear that we must do 
something as a Congress and as a nation about the violence that plagues 
our schools and streets.
  The crime rate in my district and in New York City has declined. 
Neighborhoods are safer. Kids do not fear gang warfare and schools 
throughout New York are safe havens for students. Kids may be safe but 
parents are concerned. They are concerned about the proliferation of 
guns, of kids getting access to guns without trigger locks, of guns 
being bought at gun shows without adequate background checks, and of 
the ability to buy guns over the Internet.
  These are the issues that the Democrats want to address, not a bill 
written in secret by the NRA and brought straight to the floor without 
an adequate committee hearing.
  Why is the bill the House is addressing weaker than its Senate bill? 
Let us pass legislation to protect our children, make our neighborhoods 
safer and make it harder for guns to get into the hands of children and 
criminals.

                          ____________________