[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 99 (Wednesday, July 14, 1999)]
[House]
[Page H5462]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      CHILD GUN SAFETY LEGISLATION

  (Ms. DeGETTE asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. DeGETTE. Mr. Speaker, in June, the House of Representatives had 
the opportunity to pass bipartisan moderate gun safety legislation. We 
had a chance to make this country a safer place, and we let it slip 
away.
  Yesterday, again, we had the opportunity to add child gun safety 
legislation to the Treasury Postal appropriations bill. Three 
amendments were offered at the committee markup mirroring the Senate 
legislation which was passed in May. Unfortunately, all three of these 
amendments were defeated in committee.
  The people of this country want child gun safety legislation. I have 
received many, many letters from mothers, fathers, teachers, ex-
military officers, even Republicans urging me to do something, to make 
schools safer for all of the children and to keep guns out of the hands 
of children.
  Tackling this problem of guns should not preclude the need to address 
our cultural problems. But we need to look at all of these issues to 
address child safety in this country. I urge my colleagues to do this 
before the August recess.

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