[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 135 (Wednesday, October 25, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Page S10988]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        GUN VIOLENCE IN AMERICA

  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, the 106th Congress is about to adjourn 
without passing critical legislation to reduce the level of gun 
violence in this country.
  Over the last years, the American people have been demanding that 
their schools, places of worship, and other public places be better 
protected from gun violence. Congress had an opportunity to address the 
gun violence problem in our country by passing sensible gun laws that 
would help ensure that young people or those with criminal backgrounds 
do not illegally gain access to firearms. In the end, Congress failed 
the American people.
  It is very disappointing that Congress refused to act on the issue of 
gun violence. Too many senseless shootings have put our sense of safety 
in jeopardy. Here are just some of the high profile shootings that took 
place during this session of Congress, and the casualties that occurred 
as a result.
  In the year 1999:
  January 14, an office building, Salt Lake City, Utah, one dead, one 
injured;
  March 18, a law office, Johnson City, Tennessee, two dead;
  April 15, a library, Salt Lake City, Utah, three dead, four injured;
  April 20, a high school, Littleton, Colorado, 15 dead, 23 injured;
  May 20, a high school, Conyers, Georgia, six injured;
  June 3, a grocery store, Las Vegas, Nevada, four dead;
  June 11, a psychiatrist's office, Southfield, Michigan, three dead, 
four injured;
  July 4, multiple locations, Illinois and Indiana, three dead, nine 
injured;
  July 29, two day trading firms, Atlanta, Georgia, 13 dead, 13 
injured;
  August 5, two office buildings, Pelham, Alabama, three dead;
  August 10, a Jewish Community Center, Los Angeles, California, five 
injured, and later in the same day, one dead;
  September 14, a hospital, Anaheim, California, three dead;
  September 15, a church, Fort Worth, Texas, eight dead, seven injured;
  November 2 an office building, Honolulu, Hawaii, seven dead;
  November 3, a shipyard, Seattle, Washington, two dead, two injured;
  December 6, a middle school, Fort Gibson, Oklahoma, four injured; and
  December 30, a hotel, Tampa, Florida, five killed, three injured.
  In the year 2000:
  January 23, a Sikh temple, El Sobrante, California, one dead, one 
injured;
  February 14, a sandwich shop, Littleton, Colorado, two dead;
  February 29, an elementary school, Flint, Michigan, one dead;
  March 1, several locations, Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania, three dead, 
two injured;
  March 8, the scene of a fire, Memphis, Tennessee, four dead, two 
injured;
  March 10, a high school dance, Savannah, Georgia, two dead, one 
injured;
  March 24, a State office building, Effingham, Illinois, two dead;
  April 18, a seniors home, Lincoln Park, Michigan, two dead, one 
injured;
  April 24, a zoo, Washington, D.C., seven injured;
  April 28, several locations, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, five killed, 
one injured;
  April 28, a restaurant and hotel, Salt Lake City, Utah, two dead, 
three injured;
  May 11, a middle school, Prairie Grove, Arkansas, two injured;
  May 17, a ball park, Ozark, Alabama, two dead, one injured;
  May 26, a middle school, Lake Worth, Florida, one dead;
  June 25, a basketball court, Chicago, Illinois, seven injured;
  August 28, a professor's office, Fayetteville, Arkansas, two dead;
  September 7, a sewage lagoon, Bunker, Missouri, two dead, two 
injured;
  September 24, a high school, outside Seattle, Washington, one 
injured;
  September 26, a middle school, New Orleans Louisiana, two injured;
  October 20, a courthouse, Yreka, California, one dead, two injured; 
and
  October 23, a pizzeria in New Baltimore, Michigan, one dead.
  Gun violence is a critical issue that the majority of Americans care 
about deeply. The will of the majority can be frustrated in the short 
run, but not in the long run. This issue will not go away. If this 
Congress will not pass legislation addressing gun violence in America, 
I am confident that another Congress will, and I will continue to work 
toward that objective.

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