[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 62 (Thursday, May 6, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4988-S4989]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           MILLION MOM MARCH

  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, this weekend moms from across the country 
will converge on Washington to join in a march remembering gun violence 
victims and urging President Bush to support commonsense gun safety 
legislation. I am proud to support the moms, and I know my colleagues 
will join me in commending these women for their leadership.
  On Mother's Day, moms will gather on the west lawn of the U.S. 
Capitol to bring their ``Halt the Assault'' message to the front door 
of Congress. These women have come to Washington to urge Members of 
Congress to support sensible gun safety legislation. Their leadership 
is desperately needed on this issue, and I applaud all of the moms who 
will make this journey for their commitment. After the march, the moms 
will spend Monday visiting our offices and urging us to support 
commonsense gun safety legislation.
  One of the moms attending this Sunday's events is Barb Case, 
Michigan's Million Mom March President. Mrs. Case has been a member of 
the Michigan Million Mom March since it first started in 2000. She will 
be leading as many as 500 Michigan moms to Washington. The Michigan 
moms will be marching in memory of the 120,000 people who have been 
killed by a firearm, including more than 13,000 children and teens, 
since 2000. Mrs. Case, along with other moms in Michigan, have united 
with State and local leaders to implement community efforts to address 
the tough issues surrounding gun violence in my home State of Michigan. 
And, Barb has organized Michigan's moms trip to Washington every year 
since the first march took place in 2000.
  This year's marchers are focused on the renewal and strengthening of 
the assault weapons ban, holding gun manufacturers accountable for 
their products, requiring background checks on all gun purchases, 
reinstating the 5-day Brady waiting period for all gun purchases, and 
incorporating safety standards into gun design.
  Michigan's moms, just like millions of moms from across the country 
want an America where their kids are safe from gun violence. Again, I 
commend all of the mothers coming to Washington this weekend for their 
hard work and commitment to the issue of gun safety and I hope all of 
my colleagues will remember these efforts when the Senate considers gun 
safety legislation in the coming months.
  I ask unanimous consent that an article from the Detroit Free Press, 
which discussed the issue of gun violence and this Sunday's march, be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

              [From the Detroit Free Press, Apr. 29, 2004]

                  Work Toward Peace This Mother's Day

                          (By Desiree Cooper)

       Sometimes, society's assault on your humanity can be so 
     fierce, you have to throw down the gauntlet and say, ``This 
     means war.''
       That's what happened to two women more than 140 years ago. 
     One was Anna Reeves Jarvis, a West Virginia Methodist 
     pastor's wife. She established Mother's Day Work Clubs to 
     improve the health of Appalachian women and children. But as 
     Civil War casualties mounted, she converted the clubs into 
     nursing squads, determined to save the lives of all 
     soldiers--both Confederate and Union.
       Abolitionist Julia Ward Howe, author of the ``Battle Hymn 
     of the Republic,'' also had become war-weary. When the 
     Franco-Prussian War began on the heels of the Civil War, she 
     started rallying women for a national Mother's Day for Peace. 
     Together, the nurse and the poet began the antiwar holiday 
     that we know as Mother's Day.


                      not about daisies and dinner

       We've long since forgotten that Mother's Day was a social 
     movement. But this year, Endolyn Chapman and her daughter 
     Tonisha will hark back to the roots of the holiday and 
     celebrate it on May 9 at the Million Mom March in Washington, 
     DC.
       Neither woman has ever seen herself as political. Tonisha, 
     19, just registered to vote last week. But, like Jarvis and 
     Howe, violence has spurred their fight for peace.
       ``The last time I saw my father, he was driving away as I 
     was coming home,'' said Tonisha, remembering the even on 
     April 5, 2004.``I wanted to stop and chat with him, but he 
     just waved and drove off.''
       That night, 44-year old Steven Chapman went to Detroit's 
     Sa-Mari Hand Car Wash on Wyoming and 6 Mile.
       ``Four men wearing ski masks robbed the place,'' said 
     Endolyn, who'd been married to Chapman--a former college 
     football player who stood 6 feet 6 and wore a size 18 shoe--
     for nearly 20 years. ``My husband pleaded for his life. He 
     was in a seated position when they killed him.''


                     how will you commit for peace?

       Tonisha has tried to comfort her mother, taking her out on 
     her parents' anniversary. Endolyn, too, has tried to move on, 
     even though her husband's killers remain at large.
       Then she read an article about the Million Mom March's Halt 
     the Assault rally to urge Congress to renew the assault 
     weapons ban.
       ``There is no reason why anyone would need an assault 
     weapon,'' Endolyn said. ``You can't hunt with one. I decided 
     that we'd go to the march because we don't ever want another 
     family to go through what we've been through.''
       Million Man Marchstate president Barb Case said, ``So many 
     women have been touched by the suffering of others and want 
     to do something to change the world.'' She estimated that 
     about 500 people from Michigan will attend the march. ``This 
     is a powerful way for them to get involved.
       And what better day to demonstrate that power than Mother's 
     Day.

  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, tens of thousands of women will come 
to Washington this Mother's Day weekend to spread the word about the 
urgent need to renew the Federal assault weapons ban.
  I thank these women, and their families and friends who will join 
them, for their effort to focus the American public on the fact that we 
could lose this important law unless Congress and the President renew 
the ban soon.
  I ask these committed Americans to do everything they can do to help 
save the assault weapons ban. They should write the President and urge 
him to help renew the ban. They should write Senate Majority Leader 
Bill Frist and Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert and urge them to 
bring the assault weapons ban up for a vote. They should make their 
voices heard until the ban is renewed.
  Time is running out. The Federal assault weapons ban will expire on 
September 13 of this year if Congress and the President do not act. 
This means that AK-47s, TEC-DC 9s, Street Sweepers, and dozens of other 
types of military-style assault weapons will once again flood the 
streets of America. We cannot afford to let this happen. We owe the 
American people more than that. It is just that simple.
  Assault weapons pose a grave threat to all Americans, but most 
especially to law enforcement officers on our city streets.
  Just last month, I spoke at the funeral of San Francisco Police 
Officer Isaac Espinoza, who was shot and killed by a gang member armed 
with an AK-47 and a 30-round clip. Officer Espinoza took three shots in 
his back as a gunman fired 15 rounds in just seconds, giving Officer 
Espinoza and his partner, who was also shot, no time to seek refuge.

[[Page S4989]]

  Officer Espinoza was a bright young star in the San Francisco Police 
Department, and he had a promising future and loving family. Now that 
future is gone. His wife Renata is without a husband. His beautiful 3-
year-old girl Isabella is without a father.
  And Officer Espinoza is far from the only law enforcement officer 
gunned down in his prime by an assailant wielding an assault weapon.
  A recent study by the Violence Policy Center stated that one in five 
police officers killed in the line of duty is killed with an assault 
weapon.
  That study listed a number of officers gunned down by assault 
weapons, and I would just like to list a few examples because if we let 
the assault weapons ban expire, we can expect many more of these 
incidents.
  On January 10, 1999:

       Officer James Williams was killed with a MAK-90 or SA85 
     7.62mm rifle. Officer Williams was among a group of officers 
     who were searching for a rifle that had been discarded by the 
     occupants of a vehicle that was involved in a chase with 
     police. While they were searching for the rifle, a gunman 
     opened fire from a nearby overpass, killing Officer Williams. 
     Chad Rhodes was arrested and charged with special-
     circumstances murder, attempted murder, three counts of 
     firing an assault weapon, and possessing an assault weapon. 
     Rhodes pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was 
     sentenced to life in prison without parole.

  On June 12, 1999 in Orange County, California:

       Sheriff's Deputy Brad Riches was killed with a MAK-90 or 
     SA85 7.62mm rifle. Deputy Riches was sitting in his patrol 
     car outside a 7-Eleven when his police cruiser was riddled 
     with assault weapon fire. The 7-Eleven clerk said that a 
     customer told him he was carrying an AK-47-style assault 
     rifle to shoot a police officer. Maurice Steksal was 
     convicted on November 19, 2002 of the first-degree murder of 
     Deputy Riches.

  And there are many, many more. But the list would be far longer if 
the assault weapons ban were not in place, because more of these guns 
would be out there. They would be easier for criminals to get and to 
use, and more officers would be killed.

  Indeed, these shootings underscore the fundamental danger assault 
weapons pose to our society.
  The good news is that the Senate has gone on record in support of 
extending the ban on military-style assault weapons. In a bipartisan 
vote in March, the Senate approved a straight 10-year renewal of the 
current ban as an amendment to a bill being pushed by the National 
Rifle Association giving gun manufacturers and dealers protection from 
civil lawsuits.
  But in a bizarre twist, the NRA scuttled its own bill to prevent the 
extension from becoming law. This is the power of the NRA.
  In over a decade as a U.S. Senator, I have encountered no lobby 
stronger than the gun lobby. I am convinced that if the NRA is going to 
be defeated, it will be by the mothers and fathers of this Nation--
parents who want a future for their children free of the violence and 
bloodshed sparked by the vast overproliferation of guns throughout our 
country.
  These are the people who came together in the first Million Mom March 
4 years ago, and these are the people who will come together again this 
weekend.
  These people will stand firm and say: Enough is Enough. Now is the 
time to protect our families from assault weapons. There cannot be any 
turning back.
  Over the past decade, we have had a chance to examine the assault 
weapons ban and to determine if it works and enjoys support.
  The results are in.
  The ban works. Recent Department of Justice records indicate that the 
use of banned assault weapons in crimes has declined measurably--by 65 
percent in one analysis--since the measure took effect.
  The men and women of law enforcement across the Nation support the 
ban because, on the front lines, they know it protects them and makes 
communities safer. The Fraternal Order of Police endorses another 10 
years, as does almost every other major law enforcement organization, 
including chiefs of police all across the Nation.
  No weapons have been confiscated from legitimate gun owners. In fact, 
the bill specifically protects 670 shotguns and rifles used for 
hunting.
  Almost three-fourths of the American people, and two-thirds of gun 
owners, support renewing the ban.
  In fact, a recent University of Pennsylvania Annenberg poll found 
that 71 percent of all Americans support renewing the assault weapons 
ban; 64 percent of people in homes with a gun supported extension of 
the ban; and even 46 percent of people in NRA households support 
extending the ban, contrary to claims by NRA leadership that its 
members are universally against this proposal.
  Some in the Senate opposed the ban a decade ago, fearing it would do 
little to reduce crime, and could threaten the constitutional rights of 
law-abiding gun owners and hunters.
  Now, 10 years since that vote, America has seen just the opposite: 
the ban has made our streets safer, it has protected law enforcement 
officers, and in no way has it diminished legitimate gun owners' 
rights.
  Moreover, we all know that the world has dramatically changed since 
1993. September 11, 2001, has taught us many lessons; among them that 
terrorism lurks in our own cities and communities. Given today's 
dangers, it defies logic to let suicidal terrorists, gang members and 
others simply walk up to a counter and buy these weapons for potential 
attacks.
  Assault weapons pose a fundamental danger to law enforcement and our 
society, and we will continue to work to extend the ban in the Senate. 
The assault weapons ban is too important to let die.
  The bottom line is this--what is the argument for letting these 
banned guns back on the streets?
  Who is clamoring for newly manufactured AK-47s?
  Who is clamoring for new TEC-9s?
  These are guns that are never used for hunting. They are not used for 
self-defense, and if they are, it is more likely that they will kill 
innocents than intruders.
  These guns--and everyone knows it--have but one purpose, and that 
purpose is to kill other human beings. Why would we want to open the 
floodgates again and let them back on our streets? There is simply no 
good reason.
  For a number of years now, President Bush has indicated that he 
supports renewing the assault weapons ban for another decade. But he 
has not lifted a finger to help. Ultimately, however, the voice of the 
White House will be pivotal in determining if the ban is ultimately 
approved by Congress and signed into law.
  Now is the time to renew a sound law for another 10 years.
  We do this in the memory of Officer Espinoza and all the other police 
officers shot and killed with assault weapons.
  We do this on behalf of all the women who are marching on Washington 
this weekend.
  And we do this to keep our communities safe.

                          ____________________