[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 80 (Thursday, June 22, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5653-S5654]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          GUN SAFETY CAMPAIGN

  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, when six-year old Kayla Rolland, from Mt. 
Morris Township, Michigan, was shot by a fellow classmate, it moved 
most Americans to tears. Months later, the tears dried and the images 
faded from view for some, while others turned those tears into action. 
Of course, the most active group has been the Million Moms, who marched 
in my home state of Michigan and around the country to demonstrate for 
safer, more sensible gun laws.
  The mothers and others marched on Mothers' Day, 2000 because they are 
fed up with Congress and our continual failure to pass responsible gun 
measures that will help protect America's children. Since the school 
shooting in Colorado, and the more recent one in Michigan, Congress has 
failed to act, so Americans have started to take gun safety into their 
own hands. One of those Americans is Joe Yax of Midland, Michigan.
  Mr. Yax was driven to action by the school shooting of Kayla Rolland. 
Yax said he felt nauseated when he first heard news of the shooting, 
and immediately thought of his own young children, and the unlocked 
guns he kept at home. Yax told the press that he had always planned to 
purchase locking devices for his guns, but he never found the time. 
When young Kayla was shot, not only did Mr. Yax find the time to 
purchase trigger locks to make his own children safer, Mr. Yax, who is 
a store employee of the Midwest superstore, Meijer, e-mailed the 
company's president to see how he could make his community safer.

[[Page S5654]]

  As a result of that e-mail, Meijer, which does not sell guns, but 
does sell ammunition, hunting licenses and other supplies, implemented 
a gun safety campaign at all of their stores. Sporting-good employees 
now wear buttons reading, ``Is your home gun safe? Trigger lock `em'' 
and trigger locks are displayed prominently at the sporting-goods 
counter. In addition, Meijer reduced the price of trigger locking 
devices to encourage more purchases.
  I am pleased that Joe Yax took this initiative, and I think he and 
Meijer should be commended for their efforts. Corporate responsibility 
is a necessity if we are going to reduce gun violence. Nevertheless, 
while Mr. Yax did what he could to improve gun safety, it is not 
enough. It's time for Congress to follow the lead of Mr. Yax and act to 
make sure our own children--America's children--are safer.

                          ____________________