[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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