[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 128 (Tuesday, September 28, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Page S11578]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           KEEPING KIDS ALIVE

 Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, last week in Michigan, a coalition 
of members in the House of Representatives introduced a comprehensive 
package of gun safety legislation. The principal sponsors of this 
package are State Representatives Laura Baird, Gilda Jacobs and Samuel 
Thomas II, three leaders in the state of Michigan on making our state 
safer for children.
  The legislation introduced in the Michigan State House is designed to 
keep kids alive in Michigan and safe from gun violence. It would create 
gun-free zones in areas such as schools, day care centers, churches, 
libraries, hospitals and sports arenas; make Michigan the eighteenth 
state to enact a child access prevention law, requiring that trigger 
locks be sold with handguns; close the gun show loophole by requiring 
that unlicensed dealers be subject to the same standards as licensed 
dealers; and limit individuals to one handgun purchase a month.
  This legislation, if enacted, would make Michigan one of the most 
responsible gun safety states in the country. By taking firearms out of 
the hands of minors and closing loopholes that permit criminals easy 
access to weapons, Lansing will send a clear message to Michigan 
mothers and fathers that the state is acting to protect children from 
gun violence.
  This legislation is a far cry from the legislation the Michigan 
Legislature moved forward with last spring. That NRA-backed 
legislation, designed to loosen the state's law on carrying concealed 
handguns sailed through the state Legislature only to be rejected by 
the citizens of Michigan. Michigan's citizens demanded that their 
lawmakers, enforce stricter, not looser laws, when it comes to gun 
safety and the protection of their children. The people in Michigan 
united to reject that bill last spring and I hope they will again unite 
to seek action from their lawmakers, and urge them to pass this 
important legislation.

                          ____________________