[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 73 (Tuesday, June 13, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Page S5020]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        VICTIMS OF GUN VIOLENCE

  Mr. REED. Mr. President, it has been nearly 14 months since the 
Columbine tragedy, and over a year since the Senate passed common sense 
gun safety legislation as part of the Juvenile Justice bill, and still 
the Republican majority in Congress refuses to act on sensible gun 
legislation.
  Since Columbine, thousands of Americans have been killed by gunfire. 
Until Congress acts, Democrats in the Senate will read the names of 
some of those who lost their lives to gun violence in the past year, 
and we will continue to do so every day that the Senate is in session.
  In the name of those who died, we will continue this fight.
  Following are the names of a few Americans who were killed by gunfire 
one year ago, on June 13, 1999:
  Robert Ayala, 21, Chicago, IL.
  Timothy Croft, 39, Detroit, MI.
  Warner Freeman, 21, Philadelphia, PA.
  James Harley, 40, Baltimore, MD.
  Rico Perry, 27, Charlotte, NC.
  Wesley Rodenas, 19, San Bernardino, CA.
  Thoyce Sanders, 45, Dallas, TX.
  Charles Stewart, 32, Dallas, TX.
  Mario Taylor, 23, Chicago, IL.
  Renardo Wilson, 38, Dallas, TX.
  Unidentified male, 49, Portland, OR.
  Mark Pierce, 36, Providence, RI.
  Mr. Pierce was killed in a late-night drive-by shooting after a 
confrontation between one of his friends and two young men, one 18 and 
one 21, at a marina on the Providence River waterfront. After an 
initial scuffle, the two young men departed and returned within an hour 
in a car. One of them opened fire with a handgun, killing Pierce. It's 
another example of a quarrel that, in another time in America, might 
have resulted in a bloody nose and a bruised ego, but instead took the 
life of Mark Pierce.
  And, Mr. President, the gun violence continues every day across 
America. Three weeks ago, a 15-year-old girl in Providence, who was a 
key witness for the prosecution in an upcoming murder trial, was shot 
with a handgun at point blank range in her front yard on a Sunday 
evening. She died the next day. She was to testify in the trial of a 
19-year-old charged with shooting to death a 17-year-old last August.
  Just this past Friday, in Providence, Rhode Island, two college 
students were carjacked at gunpoint, robbed, taken to a nearby golf 
course, and shot execution style with a .40 caliber semiautomatic 
handgun. The handgun was stolen from the car of a freelance 
photographer while he shopped at a local convenience store in February. 
This case makes a strong argument against concealed carry laws and 
other liberal gun laws that encourage citizens to bring their handguns 
out of their homes and into the streets of our cities. It also 
underscores the need for aggressive research into smart gun technology 
to ensure that a weapon can only be fired by its legitimate owner.
  Finally, although in this instance the police were able to trace the 
gun relatively quickly because it was stolen in Providence and reported 
by the owner, in many cases crime guns cannot be traced because law 
enforcement is completely dependent upon the record keeping of gun 
manufacturers and gun dealers, and post-retail private sales are 
usually unrecorded. If we registered handguns and licensed handgun 
owners, the police could put out an immediate alert when a weapon is 
reported stolen, and they could trace a weapon more quickly upon its 
recovery after a horrible crime like this one. In addition, the 
assailants would face yet another felony charge for illegal possession 
of a weapon not registered to them.
  Mr. President, twelve young Americans lose their lives to gun 
violence every day. That's a new Columbine tragedy every 24 hours. It 
is time for Congress to do its part to reduce gun violence by passing 
sensible gun safety legislation to keep firearms out of the hands of 
children and convicted felons. We should do so without further delay.
  I yield the floor.

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