[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 89 (Tuesday, June 22, 1999)]
[House]
[Page H4720]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              GUN CONTROL

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Woolsey) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, it was pretty outrageous last week that the 
Republican leadership had the nerve to offer a watered-down version of 
the Senate gun safety legislation. It was clear to all that watched and 
listened that 80 percent of the Republicans were willing to wait until 
there is more blood on our hands before passing real gun control 
legislation, legislation that would make it harder for kids to get 
guns.
  But thankfully, 80 percent of the Democrats and 20 percent of the 
Republicans know that our children should be worrying about hitting 
their books, not about getting hit by a bullet. They know that our 
children should see Gunsmoke as an old TV rerun, and not a reality in 
their daily lives. And they know that our children must be safe in 
their schools, their neighborhoods, and their homes.
  Increased gun safety measures will save the lives of thousands of 
young people every year. Regardless of our political agendas, we have 
to put our children first.
  Fortunately, last week good sense prevailed and the legislation that 
would not close the gaping loopholes in our gun laws and would not make 
our children any safer failed. Mr. Speaker, now we have another 
opportunity, an opportunity to consider meaningful anti-violence 
legislation, rather than legislation that sounds helpful but rings 
hollow. We need commonsense anti-violence legislation, and we need to 
now.
  In fact, Mr. Speaker, some of the most effective programs that we 
should and could be considering would begin at the preschool level. We 
know that the early years of a child's life are pivotal in determining 
their personality, determining their values and their conscience. So we 
must stop Band-Aid approaches that put guns in the hands of youth and 
put criminals behind bars after the fact.
  Instead, we must do some real crimefighting at the source through 
effective prevention programs. In other words, let us not do what we 
have been doing with the staggering amount of money and a staggering 
lack of success. Let us not lock up people behind bars, never mind 
where they bought their gun.

                              {time}  1915

  Never mind where they bought their gun or never mind what made them 
so crazy in the first place because today's kids are trying to be older 
faster, and they do not know how to do it, and they should not have to 
do it. A lot of them come from homes with only one parent, and a lot of 
them live in poverty.
  Unfortunately, the clear connection between poverty and antisocial 
behavior continues to be an afterthought. We think we can stumble our 
way to make sense of security by some puny legislation, by putting 
people behind iron bars instead of protecting them and preventing them 
from being in trouble in the first place.
  Mr. Speaker, we must address the problem of youth violence in terms 
of prevention and in terms of effective punishment. We should be 
implementing solutions based upon what research, what judgments, and 
what other practitioners have indicated about what is needed to reduce 
juvenile crime and delinquency.
  That is why we must step forward with real solutions. Following the 
good sense of 80 percent of the House Democrats and 20 percent of the 
House Republicans, we can strengthen gun control laws, and we can 
invest in prevention programs so our children will not result in 
violence to settle their problems.

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