[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 108 (Thursday, August 1, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Page S7882]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    CHILDREN, YOUTH AND GUN VIOLENCE

 Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, ``Children, Youth and Gun 
Violence,'' a report released last month by the David and Lucille 
Packard Foundation, questions the effectiveness of programs to train 
children and young people to stay away from guns, or behave responsibly 
around guns. The report states parents should instead focus their 
efforts on keeping guns away from kids, except under supervised 
circumstances. The problem of kids gaining access to guns is not small. 
According to statistics compiled by the Packard Foundation, each year 
in the United States more than 20,000 children under age 20 are killed 
or injured by firearms of which more than 3,000 are killed.
  These figures emphasize the need to do all we can to keep kids from 
gaining unsupervised access to guns. I cosponsored Senator Durbin's 
Child Access Prevention Act because I believe it is a common sense step 
in this direction. Under this bill, adults who fail to lock up loaded 
firearms or an unloaded firearm with ammunition could be held liable if 
a weapon is taken by a child and used to kill or injure him or herself 
or another person. The bill also increases the penalties for selling a 
gun to a juvenile and creates a gun safety education program that 
includes parent-teacher organizations, local law enforcement and 
community organizations. I support this bill and hope the Senate will 
act on it.
  The Packard Foundation study brings to light the importance of common 
sense gun safety legislation. It also offers nine recommendations to 
policymakers and parents to prevent easy access to guns. I ask 
unanimous consent that the nine recommendations included in the Packard 
Foundation report, entitled ``Children, Youth and Gun Violence,'' be 
entered into the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                            Recommendations


                            RECOMMENDATION 1

       Congress and federal health agencies should set a goal of 
     reducing youth gun homicide to levels comparable to those of 
     other industrialized nations, engaging in a comprehensive 
     effort to identify the causes of youth gun homicide and 
     reduce its prevalence in American society.


                            RECOMMENDATION 2

       Federal and state public health agencies should make youth 
     gun suicide a central focus of their gun violence prevention 
     and suicide prevention activities, developing and assessing 
     methods for keeping guns away from youth at risk of suicide.


                            RECOMMENDATION 3

       Federal, state, and local public health and law enforcement 
     agencies should make a commitment to collecting better data 
     about gun-related fatalities and injuries by supporting 
     development of a national system for reporting violent deaths 
     and injuries and a system for tracing all guns used in 
     crimes.


                            RECOMMENDATION 4

       Policymakers, mental health professionals, and educators 
     should develop, implement, and evaluate treatment programs 
     that help youth exposed to gun violence cope with trauma.


                            RECOMMENDATION 5

       Federal and state policymakers, in conjunction with public 
     health experts and educators, should initiate creative public 
     awareness and educational efforts--and evaluate existing 
     approaches--to encourage stronger parental monitoring of 
     children's exposure to guns and safe storage of guns in the 
     home.


                            RECOMMENDATION 6

       Federal, state, and local policymakers should develop and 
     evaluate comprehensive, community-based initiatives to reduce 
     youth gun violence--partnering with schools, faith 
     communities, community service programs, parents, and young 
     people.


                            RECOMMENDATION 7

       Police should complement their existing efforts to deter 
     youth gun carrying by developing and evaluating law 
     enforcement approaches that include extensive police-
     community collaboration.


                            RECOMMENDATION 8

       Congress should extend the jurisdiction of the Consumer 
     Product Safety Commission or the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco 
     and Firearms to regulate guns as consumer products, establish 
     regulations requiring product safety features on guns, and 
     evaluate the effectiveness of product safety interventions. 
     State governments should extend similar authority to their 
     consumer product safety agencies.


                            RECOMMENDATION 9

       Congress and state legislatures should institute tighter 
     restrictions on gun sales so that fewer guns illegally end up 
     in the hands of youth. A variety of approaches should be 
     implemented and evaluated--in particular, closer oversight of 
     licensed dealers, regulation of private sales, and mandated 
     licensing of gun owners and registration of guns.

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