[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 85 (Thursday, June 29, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6113-S6114]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  CHILD HANDGUN INJURY PREVENTION ACT

 Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, yesterday I introduced legislation, 
along with my good friend from Ohio Senator DeWine, that will set 
minimum standards for gun safety locks. There has been a lot of 
discussion swirling around the U.S. Congress and in State legislatures 
throughout the country about the use of handgun safety locks to prevent 
children from gaining access to dangerous weapons. In fact, just last 
week New York became the latest State to require that safety locks be 
sold with firearms. Seventeen states have Child Access Protection, or 
CAP laws in place, which permit prosecution of adults if their firearm 
is left unsecured and a child uses that firearm to harm themselves or 
others.
  An important element that is largely missing from the debate over the 
voluntary or required use of gun safety locks is the quality and 
performance of these locks. Mr. President, a gun lock will only keep a 
gun out of a child's hands if the lock works. There are many cheap, 
flimsy locks on the market that are easily overcome by a child. In fact 
just last week in Dale City, VA there was an absolutely heart-wrenching 
accidental shooting of

[[Page S6114]]

a 10-year-old boy by his 13-year-old brother. The parents of these 
young boys purchased both a lock box and a trigger lock and I'm sure 
they assumed that they were safely storing their weapon.
  But, as was reported in Saturday's Washington Post, the boys easily 
got past the flimsy lock box and then got around the lock. This 
incident ended in unspeakable, but all too common tragedy with the 
death of a 10-year-old boy at the hands of his brother.
  Mr. President, the legislation Senator DeWine and I introduced 
yesterday might have prevented the accidental shooting of that young 
boy last week. Our legislation gives authority to the Consumer Product 
Safety Commission to set minimum regulations for safety locks and to 
remove unsafe locks from the market. Our legislation empowers consumers 
by ensuring that they will only purchase high-quality lock boxes and 
trigger locks.
  Storing firearms safely is an effective and inexpensive way to 
prevent the needless tragedies associated with unintentional firearm-
related death and injury. And I am pleased that several states, 
including my home state of Massachusetts, have required the use of gun 
safety locks. Last July here in the U.S. Senate we passed an amendment 
that would require the use of gun safety locks.
  So, while I am encouraged by this trend of increasing the use of gun 
safety locks, I am genuinely concerned that with the hundreds of 
different types of gun locks on the market today it is difficult--
probably impossible--for consumers to be assured that the lock they are 
purchasing will be effective.
  The latest data released by the Centers for Disease Control in 1999 
revealed that accidental shootings accounted for 7 percent of child 
deaths and that more than 300 children died in gun accidents, almost 
one child every day. A study in the Archives of Pediatric and 
Adolescent Medicine found that 25 percent of 3- to 4-year-olds and 70 
percent of 5- to 6-year-olds had sufficient finger strength to fire 59 
(or 92 percent) of the 64 commonly available handguns examined in the 
study. Accidental shootings can be prevented by simple safety measures, 
one of which is the use of an effective gun safety lock.
  As I have already mentioned, Mr. President, the use of gun safety 
locks is increasing in the United States. Despite the growing use of 
gun safety locks, such products are not subject to any minimal safety 
standards. Many currently available trigger locks, safety locks, lock 
boxes, and other similar devices are inadequate to prevent the 
accidental discharge of the firearms to which they are attached or to 
prevent access and accidental use by young children. Consumers do not 
have any objective criteria with which to judge the quality of gun 
safety locks.
  My colleagues on both sides of the aisle should be able to support 
this amendment. The legislation does not require the use of gun safety 
locks. It only requires that gun safety locks meet minimum standards. 
The legislation does not regulate handguns. It applies only to after-
market, external gun locks.
  The Senate has been gridlocked since last July over the issue of gun 
control. And you can be sure that young lives have been needlessly lost 
due to our inaction. This legislation--which I truly believe every 
Senator can support--would make storing a gun in the home safer by 
ensuring safety devices are effective. It would empower consumers. And 
most importantly it would protect children and decrease the numbers of 
accidental shooting in this country.
  We simply cannot stand by any longer and watch our young children 
fall victim to accidental shootings. We cannot hear about tragedies 
like the one last week in Dale City, VA without responding. This 
legislation is a step in the right direction, one I believe every 
Senator should support.

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