[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 72 (Monday, June 12, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E976-E977]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 TRIBUTE TO THE 2000 STUDENT ADVISORY BOARD OF THE 14TH CONGRESSIONAL 
                                DISTRICT

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. ANNA G. ESHOO

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, June 12, 2000

  Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the Student 
Advisory Board of the 14th Congressional District of California. The 
Board is a group of exceptional high school students who live or attend 
school in my district and have been chosen from a competitive pool of 
applicants for a year-long research project.
  This year the Board chose the issue of gun control as their research 
topic, a very timely topic for the students in light of the national 
tragedies we have witnessed.
  On May 13, 2000, the Board made their final presentation in the Palo 
Alto City Council Chambers. It was well attended by elected officials, 
parents, friends and law enforcement officials. Everyone in attendance 
agreed that the Board's presentation was extraordinarily thoughtful and 
very informative. I was deeply impressed with the exceptional research 
done by the students and their work gives me hope for the future well-
being of our nation.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me today in paying tribute 
to the Student Advisory Board of the 14th Congressional District of 
California thanking them for their superb work and their leadership and 
submit their report for the Record.

                              INTRODUCTION


                       The Student Advisory Board

       We are a group of about twenty-five high school students 
     who want to effect change in our country. We are all very 
     active in our schools and our communities and view the 
     Student Advisory Board as an opportunity to make a difference 
     on a national level. If nothing else, we want to be heard. We 
     are the next generation of leaders (and voters) and we want 
     dramatic, aggressive improvement in areas in which we see 
     fault.


                            Why Gun Control?

       We have researched and debated the hot issue of gun control 
     since October. We chose this topic because of the years' 
     tragic events such as the Columbine shootings and the murder 
     of a six-year-old by a seven-year-old peer. Alarming 
     statistics that guns kill more teens than all natural causes 
     combined hit home for the group. Unfortunately, it takes a 
     tragic event such as Columbine or the assassination of Martin 
     Luther King to make the nation aware enough to affect change. 
     We want to reduce the 32,850 yearly gun related deaths in 
     this nation and we believe that an aggressive, nationalized 
     system of effective prevention and enforcement programs will 
     reduce that number significantly.


                              Our Proposal

       The Congresswoman Eshoo Student Advisory Board proposes an 
     aggressive attack on both sides of the gun control issue. We 
     propose a nationalized set of laws, regulated by the Alcohol, 
     Tobacco and Firearm (ATF) preventing the unrestricted sale of 
     guns and effectively enforcing the laws. To prevent gun 
     crime, education about guns and their danger as well as laws 
     restricting the sale of guns must be enacted on a national 
     level to end the disparity between states. First, we propose 
     that a D.A.R.E. type program be used in elementary and high 
     schools to educate children about the dangers of guns. The 
     success of the D.A.R.E. program to effectively reduce drug 
     use in teens assures us that the same success can be achieved 
     for guns. Secondly, we want to make gun laws the same 
     regardless of where a gun is sold. Every state will have to 
     follow the same federal regulations and every gun show dealer 
     will be subject to the same restriction as a licensed gun 
     store. Gunlock laws need to be consistent across the nation. 
     There has already been progress this year: the Smith and 
     Wesson Agreement, in its earliest form, is a landmark 
     decision that is a step in the right direction. However, 
     pressure from other gun companies and the NRA has forced 
     Smith and Wesson to take back some of its' earlier promises. 
     Also, Maryland recently passed a revolutionary new law making 
     built-in locks mandatory by 2002. Thirdly, our plan includes 
     the licensing of every gun dealer as well as owner. The NRA 
     and other anti-gun control groups argue that we should not 
     interfere with the law abiding citizens' right to bear arms 
     (Second Amendment of the Constitution) by increasing the 
     restrictions and making the process longer. We argue simply 
     that a person who is legally allowed to purchase a gun may 
     have to endure a more thorough background check or wait 
     longer to receive their gun, but they are not giving up any 
     freedoms by doing this. A legal gun owner will be allowed to 
     walk away with a gun but they will have prevented a person 
     not fit to own a gun from purchasing one by accepting the 
     regulations as well. It is for the safety of the greater 
     society that we ask legal gun owners to endure the longer 
     process.
       The second part of reducing gun crime in the United States 
     is enforcement of the laws. We have identified and sited 
     solutions to the many loopholes that currently plague the

[[Page E977]]

     system because of the strong anti-gun control lobby and pro-
     gun congress members. Also noted in the enforcement section 
     are success stories, which show that tough enforcement 
     programs such as Project Exile and The Boston Summer of 
     Opportunity can work to effectively reduce the crime rate 
     nationwide just as they did in their respective cities. We 
     discuss current laws pertaining to guns, some bills that are 
     currently in congress and funding methods. We stress, more 
     than anything else, that tough enforcement of laws, public 
     awareness of the consequences of gun related crimes and 
     proper funding for these programs is essential in reducing 
     the number of gun related deaths in this nation.
       We hope that we will spark an interest in some of you to 
     act on this proposal and we hope that we will provide you, 
     Congresswoman Eshoo, with solid information to use in 
     Congress to affect change on behalf of your student (and soon 
     to be your voting) constituents. If we want to reduce gun-
     related crime, we need action. California Senator Feinstein 
     has taken a step in the right direction. She introduced a 
     bill requiring the licensing of most gun buyers. It would 
     cover buyers of handguns and some semiautomatic weapons and 
     would mandate that records for sales of each be kept. We feel 
     that strong preventative action needs to be enacted along 
     with strict enforcement of laws pertaining to gun control in 
     order to finally reduce gun crime in the United States.
                                 ______
                                 

                               CONCLUSION

       Gun related crime take the lives of 32,500 people every 
     year. That is about ninety people per day and 3,000 of those 
     people are under nineteen years old. The United States' 
     position on gun control presently is to let states make most 
     of the laws governing prevention and enforcement methods. The 
     problems created by not having a national system of gun 
     control account for many of the deaths in this nation. We 
     propose a federally run and funded program that includes 
     prevention methods as well as strict enforcement regulations. 
     This is the only way to keep guns out of unacceptable hands.
       National prevention efforts should include universal gun 
     safety lock laws and funding for more research on ``Smart 
     Gun'' technology. A D.A.R.E. style program focused on guns 
     will be the key to educating children about guns so they can 
     make good decisions later in life. Prevention is essential to 
     reducing gun-related crimes and suicides.
       Effective enforcement is the other aspect in the fight to 
     reduce gun-related deaths in the United States. Without harsh 
     punishments for criminals who use guns any prevention efforts 
     will not be effective. Project Exile, a successful 
     enforcement project in Richmond, Virginia, is a perfect 
     example of a program that we feel should be utilized in high 
     crime areas throughout the nation. Proper funding and 
     identification of worthwhile programs is equally important. 
     We have identified bills that are currently in the House of 
     Representatives to encourage your support, Congresswoman 
     Eshoo, for the types of bills presented. Lastly, we have 
     shown successful programs such as the ``Summer of 
     Opportunity'' in Boston, Massachusetts and important, 
     landmark legislation such as the Brady Bill that are steps in 
     the right direction.
       The Congresswoman Eshoo Student Advisory Board feels that 
     aggressive, nationwide change needs to take place to 
     effectively reduce gun crime in the United States. We would 
     like to mention positive efforts to educate and reduce gun 
     crimes. The Million-Mom March taking place this Sunday, May 
     15 (Mothers Day) embodies many of the aspects of gun control 
     that we support. Senator Feinstein's recent announcement of 
     her bill to make gunlocks mandatory is also a step in the 
     right direction. We hope that this report will provide the 
     information necessary to enact change on the Hill. We hope 
     that Congress and President Clinton can come to agreement on 
     a truly successful program to reduce gun crime, especially in 
     the wake of tragedies such as Columbine and the Michigan 
     shooting of a six-year-old child. There is no better time to 
     enact landmark legislation that embodies both the prevention 
     and enforcement side of this problem.

     

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