[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 132 (Thursday, October 19, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Page S10792]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  STUDENT PLEDGE AGAINST GUN VIOLENCE

  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, on Tuesday, thousands of young people 
observed the Fifth Annual Day of National Concern About Young People 
and Gun Violence. Students across the country who participated in the 
day's activities were given the chance to make a strong statement 
renouncing the violent use of guns by signing a voluntary pledge.
  In my own State of Michigan, high school senior Vince Villegas of 
Lansing worked to ensure that the anti-gun violence pledges were 
distributed to students in his own school district. Vince is the co-
founder and current president of Students Against Firearm Endangerment, 
SAFE, USA, an organization whose mission is to reduce the number of gun 
casualties by increasing gun education in America's schools. With help 
from students like Vince, more than one million young people have 
signed the Student Pledge Against Gun Violence during this year alone.
  Here is what that pledge says: ``I will never bring a gun to school; 
I will never use a gun to settle a dispute; I will use my influence 
with my friends to keep them from using guns to settle disputes. My 
individual choices and actions, when multiplied by those of young 
people throughout the country, will make a difference. Together, by 
honoring this pledge, we can reverse the violence and grow up in 
safety.''
  Vince and students like him around the country have pledged to do 
what they can to reduce the toll of gun violence in their lives. Now 
it's up to Congress to learn from our young people and pledge to combat 
the gun violence that plagues the Nation's schools and communities.

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