[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 100 (Thursday, July 27, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7923-S7925]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  SENATE RESOLUTION 345--DESIGNATING OCTOBER 17, 2000, AS A ``DAY OF 
         NATIONAL CONCERN ABOUT YOUNG PEOPLE AND GUN VIOLENCE''

  Mrs. MURRAY (for herself, Mr. Warner, Mr. Bingaman, Mrs. Boxer, Mr. 
Campbell, Mr. L. Chafee, Mr. Daschle, Mr. Dodd, Mr. Durbin, Mrs. 
Feinstein, Mr. Gorton, Mr. Inouye, Mr. Jeffords, Mr. Johnson, Mr. 
Kennedy, Mr. Kerrey, Mr. Kerry, Mr. Kohl, Ms. Landrieu, Mr. Lautenberg, 
Mr. Leahy, Mr. Levin, Ms. Mikulski, Mr. Moynihan, Mr. Reed, Mr. Robb, 
Mr. Sarbanes, Mr. Schumer, Mr. Specter, Mr. Torricelli, and Mr. 
Wellstone) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
the Committee on the Judiciary:

                              S. Res. 345

       Whereas every day in the United States, 12 children under 
     the age of 19 are killed with guns;
       Whereas 31 percent of children aged 12 to 17 know someone 
     in that age bracket who carries a gun;
       Whereas during the 1996-1997 school year, 5,724 students 
     were expelled for bringing guns or explosives to school;
       Whereas the homicide rate for children under 15 years of 
     age is 16 times higher in the United States than in 25 other 
     industrialized nations;
       Whereas over the past year, at least 50 people have been 
     killed or injured in school shootings in the United States;
       Whereas young people are our Nation's most important 
     resource, and we, as a society, have a vested interest in 
     enabling children to grow in an environment free from fear 
     and violence;
       Whereas young people can, by taking responsibility for 
     their own decisions and actions, and by positively 
     influencing the decisions and actions of others, help chart a 
     new and less violent direction for the entire Nation;
       Whereas students in every school district in the Nation 
     will be invited to take part in a day of nationwide 
     observance involving millions of their fellow students, and 
     will thereby be empowered to see themselves as significant 
     agents in a wave of positive social change; and
       Whereas the observance of October 17, 2000, as a ``Day of 
     National Concern About Young People and Gun Violence'' will 
     allow students to make a positive and earnest decision about 
     their future in that such students will have the opportunity 
     to voluntarily sign the ``Student Pledge Against Gun 
     Violence'', and promise that they will never take a gun to 
     school, will never use a gun to settle a dispute, and will 
     actively use their influence in a positive manner to prevent 
     friends from using guns to settle disputes: Now, therefore, 
     be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) designates October 17, 2000, as a ``Day of National 
     Concern About Young People and Gun Violence''; and
       (2) requests that the President issue a proclamation 
     calling on the school children of the United States to 
     observe the day with appropriate ceremonies and activities.

  Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I rise to introduce a resolution that has

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passed the Senate for the past four years unanimously. My resolution, 
which I am introducing today with Senator Warner and 31 original 
cosponsors establishes October 17, 2000, as a ``Day of National Concern 
about Young People and Gun Violence.'' For the last several years, I 
have sponsored this legislation. I am pleased that Senator Warner has 
joined me again in leading the cosponsorship drive as we pledge to our 
young people across the nation that we support their strong efforts to 
help stop the violence in their own schools and communities. I thank 
Senator Warner for his help and partnership.
  Sadly, this resolution has special meaning for all of us after the 
tragic events that occurred in the last couple of years. School 
shootings across the nation have paralyzed communities and shocked the 
country. In recent years, we've seen school shootings from Mississippi 
to Oregon. In fact, just two weeks ago, a thirteen year old boy in 
Seattle, Washington, opened fire in a crowded cafeteria at his junior 
high school. Luckily no one was hurt. These events have touched us all. 
Adults and young people alike have been horrified by the violence that 
has occurred in our schools, which should be a safe haven for our 
children. We are left wondering what we can do to prevent these 
tragedies.
  I am again introducing this resolution because I am convinced the 
best way to prevent gun violence is by reaching out to individual 
children and helping them make the right decisions. This resolution 
establishes a special day that gives parents, teachers, government 
leaders, service clubs, police departments, and others a way to focus 
on the problems caused by gun violence. It also empowers young people 
to take affirmative steps to end this violence by encouraging them to 
take a pledge not to use guns to resolve disputes.
  A Minnesota homemaker, Mary Lewis Grow, developed the idea of student 
pledges and for a ``Day of National Concern for Young People and Gun 
Violence.'' In addition, Mothers Against Violence in America, the 
National Parent Teacher Association, the American Federation of 
Teachers, the National Association of Student Councils, and the 
American Medical Association have joined the effort to establish a 
special day to express concern about our children and gun violence and 
to support a national effort to encourage students to sign a pledge 
against gun violence. In 1999, more than two million students across 
the nation signed the pledge card.
  The Student Pledge Against Gun Violence gives students the chance to 
make a promise, in writing, that they will do their part to prevent gun 
violence. The students' pledge promises three things: (1) they will 
never carry a gun to school; (2) they will never resolve a dispute with 
a gun; and (3) they will use their influence with friends to discourage 
them from resolving disputes with guns.
  Just think of the lives we could have saved if all students had 
signed--and lived up to--such a pledge last year. Twelve children would 
have been alive today and 50 people would have escaped injury from a 
school shooting. The reality is we've lost many children in what has 
become the all-too-common violence of drive-by shootings, drug wars, 
and other crime and in self-inflicted and unintentional shootings.
  We all have been heartened by statistics showing crime in America on 
the decline. Many factors are involved, including community-based 
policing, stiffer sentences for those convicted, youth crime prevention 
programs, and changes in population demographics. None of us intend to 
rest on our success because we still have far too much crime and 
violence in our society.
  So, we must find the solutions that work and focus our limited 
resources on resources on those. We must get tough on violent 
criminals--even of they are young--to protect the rest of society from 
their terrible actions. And we, each and every one of us, must make 
time to spend with our children, our neighbor's children, and the 
children who have no one else to care about them. Only when we reach 
out to our most vulnerable citizens--our kids--will we stop youth 
violence.
  I urge all of my colleagues to join in this simple effort to focus 
attention on gun violence among youth by proclaiming October 17 a ``Day 
of Concern about Young People and Gun Violence.'' October is National 
Crime Prevention Month--the perfect time to center our attention of the 
special needs of our kids and gun violence. We introduce this 
resolution today in the hopes of getting every Senator to cosponsor it 
prior to this passage, which we hope will occur in early September. 
This is an easy step for us to help facilitate the work that must go on 
in each community across America, as parents, teachers, friends and 
students try to prevent gun violence before it ruins any more lives.
  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I rise today to once again introduce a 
resolution with my colleague from Washington, Senator Murray, to 
establish October 17, 2000, as the Day of National Concern About Young 
People and Gun Violence.
  According to Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala, 10 
children and teens across the country are killed by firearms each day. 
This statistic is an alarming one, but, nevertheless, statistics can be 
so impersonal. We must remember that these 10 children lost everyday 
are real people. They are children, they are brothers, they are 
sisters, and they are grandchildren to real people. They are also a 
lost part of our future as a country. When put in real terms such as 
this, it is difficult to imagine a more important task facing our great 
nation than eliminating gun violence among America's youth.
  We all remember the events in Conyers, Georgia; Littleton, Colorado; 
Peal, Mississippi; West Paducah, Kentucky; Jonesboro, Arkansas; and 
Springfield, Oregon, Neighborhoods in these areas have all been home to 
horrific school shootings. Youth gun violence, however, is not limited 
to these all too often incidences of school shootings. America has lost 
thousands of children in what has become the all-too-common violence of 
drive-by shootings, drug wars and other crimes, as well as in self-
inflicted and unintentional shootings.
  The good news in our fight against youth gun violence is that child 
gun deaths in America have fallen every year since 1994. Nevertheless, 
Mr. President, 10 deaths a day is 10 too many.
  While there is no simple solution as to how to stop youth violence, a 
Minnesota homemaker, Mary Lewis Grow, developed the idea of a Day of 
National Concern About Young People and Gun Violence. I believe this 
idea is a step in the right direction, as do such groups as Mothers 
Against Violence in America, the National Association of Student 
Councils, the American Federation of Teachers, the National Parent 
Teacher Associations, and the American Medical Association.
  Simply put, this resolution will establish October 17, 2000, as the 
Day of National Concern About Young People and Gun Violence. On this 
day, students in every school district in the Nation will be invited to 
voluntarily sign the ``Student Pledge Against Gun Violence.'' By 
signing the pledge, students promise that they will never take a gun to 
school, will never use a gun to settle a dispute, and will use their 
influence in a positive manner to prevent friends from using guns to 
settle disputes.
  Just last year over 2 million young Americans signed the Student 
Pledge Against Gun Violence. I am confident the number of student's 
signing this year's pledge will be even greater. Though this resolution 
is not the ultimate solution to preventing future tragedies, if it 
stops even one incident of youth gun violence, this resolution will be 
invaluable. I urge all of my colleagues to join in this resolution to 
focus attention on gun violence among youth.

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