[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 141 (Tuesday, October 31, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Page S11421]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        VICTIMS OF GUN VIOLENCE

  Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, it has been more than a year since the 
Columbine tragedy, but still this Republican Congress refuses to act on 
sensible gun safety legislation.
  Since Columbine, thousands of Americans have been killed by gunfire. 
Until we act, Democrats in the Senate will read the names of some of 
those who have lost their lives to gun violence in the past year, and 
we will continue to do so every day that the Senate is in session.
  In the name of those who died, we will continue this fight. Following 
are the names of some of the people who were killed by gunfire one year 
ago today.
  October 31, 1999:
  Francisco Aguillon, 31, Chicago, IL;
  Helton Calderio, 42, Detroit, MI;
  Lashon Carter, 18, Kansas City, MO;
  Archie Dean, 29, Pittsburgh, PA;
  Roland Ford, 15, Washington, DC;
  Eddie Griffith, Sr., 71, Memphis, TN;
  Richard Hall, 19, Pittsburgh, PA;
  Larry Lavigne, 22, New Orleans, LA;
  Willie Matthews, 48, Oakland, CA;
  Preston Noble, 25, Philadelphia, PA;
  William Ohlig, 21, Philadelphia, PA;
  Billijo M. Pyle, 51, Akron, OH;
  Derrick Smith, 20, Rochester, NY;
  Doniell Smith, 14, Washington, DC;
  Gene Thompkins, 57, Akron, OH; and
  Jorge Vega, 34, Miami-Dade County, FL.
  Two of the victims of gun violence I mentioned, 15-year-old Roland 
Ford and 14-year-old Doniell Smith of Washington, D.C., were shot and 
killed by four masked gunmen while the two boys and their friends were 
walking back from a Halloween party hosted by their church. The gunmen 
fired nearly 30 shots into the group, injuring two and killing Roland 
and Doniell. A police department representative described the two boys 
as ``strait-laced kids who weren't involved in any negative activity in 
the community.''
  We cannot sit back and allow such senseless gun violence to continue. 
The deaths of these people are a reminder to all of us that we need to 
enact sensible gun legislation now.

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