[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 154 (Thursday, November 4, 1999)]
[House]
[Pages H11552-H11553]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                STOP STALLING ON GUN SAFETY LEGISLATION

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, we finished one major piece of 
legislation, and I noted that many of the Members of this House were 
applauding the success of passing a financial services reform bill. I 
think there are many people in America that will appreciate that we 
have made that giant step.
  But in the shadow of passing a bill that deals with numbers, 
statistics, and pieces of paper, and computers, we are still stalled on 
a real gun safety reform legislation and juvenile justice.
  What a tragedy that, in about 5 days, more than 100 hours from now, 
this House may come to a conclusion for 1999. We will do so in the 
shadow of seven deaths in Hawaii, two deaths in Seattle in the last 48 
hours by individuals obviously deranged and using guns to kill people.
  We will do it, likewise, in the shadow of four murders of teenagers 
this past weekend in Washington, D.C., in the shadow of a closing of a 
Cleveland high school where it is alleged that about four students have 
threatened to kill many, many students in that high school; or do it in 
the shadow of conversations we had just a few weeks ago that noted that 
many students that go to high school in America are fearful for their 
lives, are afraid of violence, have seen guns, have been bullied, have 
experienced prejudice.
  Yet, the conference that is supposed to be on gun safety and juvenile 
justice idles away its time, refusing to concede to the National Rifle 
Association, refusing to provide real gun safety for America.
  What are the issues that we are discussing in that conference? Are 
they so threatening to those of us who have taken an oath of office to 
do what is best for the American people that we would not want to do 
it?
  Does it make any sense that we continue to allow guns to get in the 
hands of criminals and children? Does it

[[Page H11553]]

make any sense that gun shows proliferate themselves around this Nation 
with the concept of unlicensed gun dealers being able to randomly sell 
guns to anybody who walks through the door?
  Just recently in California, one of the largest gun shows in America 
was able to be held because the ordinance and law that had been passed 
by local officials who came together and said we do not want any more 
gun shows in our community after the tragedy of the Jewish Community 
Center was thwarted by a court.
  I believe in the democratic process, the process of the judiciary, 
but there they were selling guns, selling guns by unlicensed dealers, 
and who knows how many criminals and possibly children had access to 
the guns.
  This conference will provide opportunities to close the loopholes for 
gun shows so that unlicensed dealers could not get up or get where they 
could sell guns to criminals and children.
  It provides for trigger locks. It will eliminate the ammunition clips 
of fast guns that we really do not need for sports and other 
recreational Activities.

                              {time}  2330

  And I would offer an amendment to ensure that children are 
accompanied by adults when they go into these gun shows if, because of 
the laws of this land, these gun shows continue to proliferate.
  Do my colleagues know that in many States, unlike movies, where we 
are looking to curb the violence and we require children to be 
accompanied by an adult depending on the rating of the movie, they can 
walk in randomly in many States into these gun shows looking at weapons 
of war, fast ammunition clips, or guns with automatic clips to them? 
They are looking at these. They are seeing these weapons of violence 
with no one attending to them.
  So, Mr. Speaker, I think that it is a tragedy that in these waning 
hours we will watch more children die, maybe the tragedy of more 
workplace violence, more criminals getting guns illegally; yet we are 
sitting by as the hours are tick, tick, ticking away doing absolutely 
nothing. I think this is a shame on this Nation. I think it is a shame 
on this Congress.
  I would ask Members in these waning hours to lift their voices and 
ask the collective leadership why, why we have not met in conference to 
talk about gun safety in America. When will we raise up our voices but, 
at the same time, lift ourselves to act and to ensure that children are 
protected?
  I hope that we will hear from someone in the near future. I hope we 
will hear from the Speaker of the House, I hope we will hear from the 
majority leader, I hope we will hear from the majority whip, I hope we 
will work in a bipartisan manner with the leadership in the Democratic 
caucus that has been asking that we move forward. I hope that we will 
hear from the other body that has been dragging their feet.
  The hours are tick, tick, ticking away. Thirteen children are dying, 
Mr. Speaker, every single day. What a shame on this House. What a shame 
on America.

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