[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 104 (Wednesday, July 21, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8960-S8961]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  SENATE RESOLUTION 158--DESIGNATING OCTOBER 21, 1999, AS A ``DAY OF 
         NATIONAL CONCERN ABOUT YOUNG PEOPLE AND GUN VIOLENCE''

  Mrs. MURRAY (for herself, Mr. Warner, Mr. Hatch, Mr. Bingaman, Mrs. 
Boxer, Mr. Chafee, Mr. Dodd, Mr. Dorgan, Mr. Edwards, Mr. Gorton, Mr. 
Grams, Mr. Jeffords, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Kerry, Ms. Landrieu, 
Mr. Lautenberg, Mr. Levin, Mr. Lieberman, Mr. Moynihan, Mr. Reid, Mr. 
Robb, Mr. Sarbanes, Mr. Schumer, Mr. Smith of Oregon, Mr. Specter, Mr. 
Torricelli, and Mr. Wellstone) submitted the following resolution; 
which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary:

                              S. Res. 158

       Whereas every day in the United States, 14 children under 
     the age of 19 are killed with guns;
       Whereas in 1994, approximately 70 percent of murder victims 
     aged 15 to 17 were killed with a handgun;
       Whereas in 1995, nearly 8 percent of high school students 
     reported having carried a gun in the past 30 days;
       Whereas young people are our Nation's most important 
     resource, and we, as a society, have a vested interest in 
     enabling children to grow in an environment free from fear 
     and violence;
       Whereas young people can, by taking responsibility for 
     their own decisions and actions, and by positively 
     influencing the decisions and actions of others, help chart a 
     new and less violent direction for the entire Nation;
       Whereas students in every school district in the Nation 
     will be invited to take part in a day of nationwide 
     observance involving millions of their fellow students, and 
     will thereby be empowered to see themselves as significant 
     agents in a wave of positive social change; and
       Whereas the observance of October 21, 1999, as a ``Day of 
     National Concern about Young People and Gun Violence'' will 
     allow students to make a positive and earnest decision about 
     their future in that such students will have the opportunity 
     to voluntarily sign the ``Student Pledge Against Gun 
     Violence'', and promise that they will never take a gun to 
     school, will never use a gun to settle a dispute, and will 
     actively use their influence in a positive manner to prevent 
     friends from using guns to settle disputes: Now, therefore, 
     be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) designates October 21, 1999, as a ``Day of National 
     Concern about Young People and Gun Violence''; and
       (2) requests that the President issue a proclamation 
     calling on the school children of the United States to 
     observe the day with appropriate ceremonies and activities.

  Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce a resolution 
that has passed the Senate now for 3 years unanimously.
  My resolution, which I am submitting today, along with Senator Warner 
and 28 other original cosponsors, establishes October 21, 1999, as a 
day of national concern about young people and gun violence. For the 
last several years, I have sponsored this legislation. This year, 
Senator Warner has joined me in leading the cosponsorship drive as we 
pledge to our young people across the Nation that we support their 
strong efforts to help stop the violence in their own schools and 
communities. I thank Senator Warner for his help and partnership in 
work on this issue.
  Sadly, this resolution has special meaning for all of us after the 
tragic events that occurred earlier this year in Littleton, CO, and 
Conyers, GA. These school shootings across the Nation have paralyzed 
their communities and shocked the country. In recent years, we have 
seen similar shootings from Mississippi to Oregon. These events have 
touched us all. Adults and young people alike have been horrified by 
the violence that has occurred in our schools, which should be a safe 
haven for children. We are all left wondering what we can do to prevent 
these tragedies.
  I am again introducing this resolution because I am convinced the 
best way to prevent gun violence is by reaching out to individual 
children and helping them make the right decisions. This resolution 
simply establishes a special day that gives parents and teachers, 
government leaders, service clubs, police departments, and others a way 
to focus on the problems caused by gun violence. It also empowers young 
people to take affirmative steps to end this violence by encouraging 
them to take a pledge not to use guns to resolve disputes.
  A Minnesota homemaker, Mary Lewis Grow, developed this idea of 
student pledges and for a day of national concern for young people and 
gun violence. In addition, Mothers Against Violence in America, the 
National Parent Teacher Association, the American Federation of 
Teachers, the National Association of Student Councils, and the 
American Medical Association have joined the effort to establish a 
special day to express concern about our children and gun violence and 
support a national effort to encourage students to sign a pledge 
against gun violence.
  In 1998, more than 1 million students across the Nation signed this 
pledge card. The student pledge against gun violence gives students the 
chance to make a promise in writing that they will do their part to 
prevent gun violence. The students' pledge promises three things: 
First, they will never carry a gun to school; second, they will never 
resolve a dispute with a gun; and third, they will use their influence 
with friends to discourage them from resolving disputes with guns.
  Just think of the lives we could have saved if all students had 
signed and lived up to such a pledge just last year.
  Consider that in the months between today and the day we demonstrated 
our concern about youth violence last year, we have had terrifying 
outbreaks of school violence. Sadly, 12 students and one teacher have 
been killed, and more than 25 students have been wounded in shootings 
by children at school. In addition, we have lost many more children in 
what has become the all too common violence of drive-by shootings, drug 
wars, and other crime, and in self-inflicted and unintentional 
shootings.
  We all have been heartened by statistics showing crime in America on 
the decline. Many factors are involved, including community-based 
policing, stiffer sentences for those convicted, youth crime prevention 
programs, and population demographics. None of us intend to rest on our 
success because we still have far, far too much crime and violence in 
this society.
  So, we must find the solutions that work and focus our limited 
resources on those. We must get tough on violent criminals--even if 
they are young--to protect the rest of society from their terrible 
actions. And we, each and every one of us, must make time to spend with 
our children, our neighbor's children, and the children who have no one 
else to care about them. Only when we reach out to our most vulnerable 
citizens--our kids--will we stop youth violence.
  Mr. President, I urge all of my colleagues to join in this simple 
effort to focus attention on gun violence among youth by proclaiming 
October 21 a ``Day of Concern about Young People and Gun Violence.'' 
October is National Crime Prevention Month--the perfect time to center 
our attention of the special needs of our kids and gun violence. We 
introduce this resolution today in the hopes of getting all 100 
Senators to cosponsor it prior to this passage, which we hope will 
occur in early September. This is an easy step for us to help 
facilitate the work that must go on in each community across America, 
as parents, teachers, friends, and students try to prevent gun violence 
before it ruins any more lives.
  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I rise today to submit a resolution that 
passed the United States Senate by unanimous consent each of the last 
two years. I am pleased to join Senator Murray in establishing October 
21, 1999, as the Day of National Concern About Young People and Gun 
Violence.

[[Page S8961]]

  On April 20, 1999, two teenagers wearing long black trench coats over 
fatigues began shooting their fellow classmates and faculty at 
Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado. In the end, 15 people 
died and many others were injured, in the bloodiest school shooting in 
America's history. Unfortunately, the atrocity that occurred in 
Littleton, Colorado, is not an isolated incident. Before the shooting 
in Columbine High School, recent school shootings occurred in Pearl, 
Mississippi; West Paducah, Kentucky; Jonesboro, Arkansas; and 
Springfield, Oregon. After Littleton, six students were shot in 
Conyers, Georgia, by one of their fellow students.
  The problem of young people and gun violence expands beyond school 
shootings. Every day in the United States, 14 children under the age of 
19 are killed with guns, and in 1994, approximately 70 percent of 
murder victims aged 15 to 17 were killed with a handgun. America has 
lost thousands of children in what has become the all-too-common 
violence of drive-by shootings, drug wars and other crimes, as well as 
in self-inflicted and unintentional shootings.
  In the aftermath of these tragedies, we all find ourselves looking 
for answers. While there is no simple solution as to how to stop youth 
violence, a Minnesota homemaker, Mary Lewis Grow, developed the idea of 
a Day of National Concern About Young People and Gun Violence. I 
believe this idea is a step in the right direction, as do such groups 
as Mothers Against Violence in America, the National Association of 
Student Councils, the American Federation of Teachers, the National 
Parent Teacher Associations, and the American Medical Association.
  Simply put, this resolution will establish October 21, 1999, as the 
Day of National Concern About Young People and Gun Violence. On this 
day, students in every school district in the Nation will be invited to 
voluntarily sign the ``Student Pledge Against Gun Violence.'' By 
signing the pledge, students promise that they will never take a gun to 
school, will never use a gun to settle a dispute, and will use their 
influence in a positive manner to prevent friends from using guns to 
settle disputes.
  Mr. President, losing one child from gun violence is one too many. 
Though this resolution is not the ultimate solution to preventing 
future tragedies like Littleton, if it stops even one incident of youth 
gun violence, this resolution will be invaluable. I urge all of my 
colleagues to join in this resolution to focus attention on gun 
violence among youth.

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