[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 50 (Thursday, April 27, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2955-S2956]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
THE JUVENILE JUSTICE BILL
Mr. REED. Mr. President, for the last several days, we have been
debating a victims' rights amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and that
is an interesting and thoughtful debate. But I think we can do
something else, which is try to prevent victims in the first place. We
can do that by passing the juvenile justice bill, which contains
sensible controls on handguns in this society.
A few days ago we saw another incident involving a handgun at the
National Zoo, a place we have recognized for decades as a source of
solace and education and recreation in the Nation's Capital. But, in a
moment, it was turned into a place of violence and terror because a
young man, apparently with a handgun, shot several young people.
The tragedy in this country is that each year 30,000 Americans die by
gunfire. Every day, 12 children are killed by gunfire. We can stop that
and we must stop that.
The most recent incident is another indication that we have to act
not someday but immediately. These seven children have been harmed and
their families have been forever changed. This is a tragedy that they
will live with, but it is a tragedy that we don't have to live with as
a nation indefinitely.
We took several appropriate and responsible steps after the Columbine
shooting last year in which we passed legislation that would close the
gun show loophole, require safety locks on handguns to prevent their
use by children, and other measures. Yet these measures languish today
in a conference committee that has met only once since last year, which
is not seriously attempting to address the critical issues of violence
in this country.
Each day we wait, another incident takes place. Again, last year on
the floor of the Senate as we debated the juvenile justice bill, if any
of us had stood up and said a 6-year-old child would walk into first
grade in America and shoot another 6 year old, some would have said it
was hysterical demagoging.
That happened. If anybody said that on a Sunday or a weekday
afternoon at the National Zoo random gunfire would break out and seven
children would be shot down, we would be accused of hysterical
demagoguery. It happened.
We can prevent this, and we should, by acting promptly to pass the
juvenile justice bill with those provisions included. Many in the
Congress call for stricter enforcement of handgun laws. I agree with
that. We should enforce the laws. But the reality is that we have to
prevent these incidents rather than, after the fact, arresting people.
It is against the law in the District of Columbia to possess a
handgun, as it was possessed, apparently, by this young man. But the
District of Columbia is not an island. It is a metropolitan area
between other States that have much less strict gun control laws.
Virginia, for example, is a State which is a shell-issue State. That
means that practically any person who is not a felon can carry a
concealed weapon with a license and without showing a special need to
do so.
Private sales of handguns, including gun show sales, are common
throughout Virginia, and there you can in fact buy a weapon without a
background check if you are buying from an unlicensed gun dealer. There
is no waiting period in Virginia to buy a handgun. Now there is a law
that prevents the purchase of more than one handgun a month, and that
is good because it prevents trafficking in firearms. But it
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only takes one gun to do the kind of damage we saw a few days ago at
the National Zoo.
We all agree that enforcement is important. We look forward to and
applaud the local authorities who apprehended the young suspect. He
will be tried and the law will be imposed and enforced. But, once
again, prevention perhaps could have prevented this violence or other
violence throughout the United States.
On this 1-year anniversary of Columbine, we should be doing something
more than simply sitting and waiting for that conference report. We
should be demanding, as we have in the past on this floor, that
conferees meet, vote, and send us back this measure, including all
those strict gun control provisions. This Senate went on record by a
vote of 53-47 to take that very position. I hope that vote will
energize and activate the conferees and that they will move immediately
to send this provision to the President for signature.
Within that bill, there are resources for the types of prevention and
enforcement that we need with respect to juveniles. Twenty-five percent
of the $250 million distributed annually on the juvenile accountability
block grant program would be dedicated to prevention to the gun lobby.
In addition, the conference report would include, I hope, child safety
locks, an amendment to firmly close the gun show loophole, a ban on the
importation of high-capacity ammunition clips, and a ban on the sale of
semiautomatic weapons. It is time now to prevent, if we can, the
violence that we have witnessed and, sadly, the violence that happens
every day.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Illinois is recognized.
Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, it is my understanding that the morning
business allocation ends at 10:30. I ask unanimous consent I be allowed
to speak until the conclusion of that morning business and then to
continue speaking for such period of time as I may consume.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Morning business does not conclude at 10:30.
The time allotted to the Senator from Illinois concludes at 10:30.
The Senator from Illinois is recognized.
Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I seek recognition until 10:30, and I ask
unanimous consent that I may continue speaking beyond that in morning
business.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. DURBIN. I thank the Chair.
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