[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 48 (Tuesday, April 25, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2873-S2874]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SENATE RESOLUTION 295--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE THAT THE
CARRYING OF FIREARMS INTO PLACES OF WORSHIP OR EDUCATIONAL AND
SCHOLASTIC SETTINGS SHOULD BE PROHIBITED
Mr. LIEBERMAN (for himself Mr. Daschle, Ms. Mikulski, Mr. Schumer,
Mrs. Boxer, Mr. Kohl, Mr. Dodd, Mr. Kerry, Mr. Reed, Mr. Bayh, Mr.
Harkin, Mr. Lautenberg, Mr. Reid, Mr. Torricelli, Mr. Johnson, Mr.
Breaux, Mr. Wellstone, Mr. Bryan, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Robb, Mr. Graham,
Mr. Wyden, Mr. Akaka, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Edwards, Mr. Moynihan, Mr.
Sarbanes, and Mr. Leahy) submitted the following resolution, which was
referred to the Committee on the Judiciary:
S. Res. 295
Whereas repeated incidents of senseless and horrific gun
violence have led many Americans to conclude that neither
they nor their children can feel completely secure anywhere
at anytime anymore;
Whereas the epidemic of gun violence in our Nation has
invaded schools, youth sporting events, places of worship,
and other spaces that the American people once thought of as
sanctuaries of safety;
Whereas these shootings have shattered the confidence of
parents and educators and clergy in their ability to protect
children from the increasingly dangerous world around them;
Whereas in response to this trend, Congress previously
acted to protect America's children by prohibiting the
possession of firearms in school zones;
Whereas no American adult or child should have to fear for
their safety when studying, praying in their places of
worship, or participating in any other activities at or
related to their schools or places of worship;
Whereas it is the obligation of America's elected leaders
to do all they can to protect our children from harm and
ensure that adults and children alike can learn, play, or
pray in safety; and
Whereas there is no rational reason for anyone other than a
law enforcement officer to carry a gun into a place of
worship, a school, or a school-related event: Now, therefore,
be it
Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that the
carrying of firearms into places of worship or educational
and scholastic settings should be prohibited.
Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, the first anniversary of the Columbine
massacre has been a time for great contemplation and reflection--
contemplation of the horror and tragedy of that event, and reflection
on what has become of the safety and security so many of us once took
for granted. From Paducah, Kentucky, to Jonesboro, Arkansas, to
Springfield, Oregon, to Mount Morris Township, Michigan, to Littleton,
Colorado, the surreal has too often become mortally real. Senseless,
horrific and seemingly random gun violence has invaded all corners of
our nation. These incidents have shattered our collective sense of
security. What's worse, they have done so with respect to the very
places where we and our children have the right to feel most secure:
our schools and our places of worship.
There are many facets to this problem--a media culture that
desensitizes our children to violence, a feeling of hopelessness that
invades too many of our children and the often too easy accessibility
of firearms. We must address all of these problems, and I hope we soon
will start to do so by taking action on the long-stalled juvenile
justice bill with its several sensible gun-safety provisions and its
measures aimed at the culture of violence surrounding our children.
But there is one more thing we can do for ourselves and our children:
restore a sense of sanctuary and safe haven to spaces where guns have
no place. Ask parents, educators or congregants, and they'll say every
community is entitled to at least a few sites of sanctuary, where they
can honor their families and their God without fearing for their safety
or their lives. But the reality is that at least 22 states permit gun
owners to carry concealed weapons into places of worship, and many
allow them at school events off campus.
Why does anyone other than a law enforcement or security officer need
to carry a firearm into these spaces? Why at this moment of such
concern about gun violence do we want to add to it the potential for
more terror and tragedy in what should be our safest places? Why after
at least a dozen shootings in American churches and synagogues over the
last five years do we want to invite another?
Making clear that guns have no place in what are supposed to be
sanctuaries would put the law on the right side of reason. It would
help diminish the odds that another Columbine is around the corner. And
it would reassure the American people that it is possible for us to
come together on common ground to fight this threat to our safety and
security.
With these thoughts in mind, and with the Million Mom March against
gun violence soon to occur in Washington, I am today joining a
coalition
[[Page S2874]]
of more than 25 Members in submitting a resolution expressing our
support for prohibitions on firearms in schools, scholastic settings,
and places of worship. This resolution would make a clear statement
that, like most Americans, we in the Senate believe that Saturday Night
Specials do not belong in Sunday School classes or any other place
where families are learning, playing or praying.
This in the end is not an ideological or constitutional issue, but a
question of common sense. We can respect the rights of law-abiding gun
owners while also acknowledging that bullets and Bibles don't mix. This
is not a hard line to take. Nor should it be a hard line to draw, in
order to provide safe havens for our families.
It is time for the Senate to go on record and say that there are
certain places in our society that must be safe havens from even the
threat of violence, spaces where we and our children can go to pray and
play with the confidence that safety and security will follow. I urge
my colleagues to join me in supporting this resolution.
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