[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 78 (Friday, May 11, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Page S6013]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    RISK OF GUNS ON COLLEGE CAMPUSES

  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, in order to get a handle on today's gun 
violence among students, we must increase our awareness on the issue. 
Last week, the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence released a report 
that draws attention to the gun lobby's efforts over the past few years 
to change college campus rules that prohibit firearms. The report 
details the gun lobby's efforts in multiple States to pressure colleges 
to allow the possession and use of firearms by students and others on 
campus.
  The report, ``No Gun Left Behind: The Gun Lobby's Campaign to Push 
Guns into Colleges and Schools,'' reveals a letter addressed to a Maine 
legislator from the National Rifle Association Institute for 
Legislative Action on April 2, 2007, emphatically opposing legislation 
to ``allow any college or university to regulate the possession of 
firearms on the property of the college or university.'' It also 
describes the gun lobby's support for a law passed in Utah that 
expressly prohibits public school districts, public schools, and State 
institutions of higher education from keeping guns off campuses. 
Similar legislation was proposed in Virginia last year.
  ``Our schools should be sanctuaries, not armed camps,'' stated Paul 
Helmke, President of the Brady Center. ``Institutions of higher 
education already have chosen policies either banning or tightly 
controlling guns on campus. That is as it should be. These institutions 
are responsible for the safety of their students and the security of 
their campuses and should continue to have the right to control 
firearms.''
  No Gun Left Behind also details some of the reasons bringing guns 
onto campus increases the danger to students and faculty alike. Every 
year approximately 1,100 college students commit suicide, with an 
additional 24,000 attempting suicide. Roughly 90 percent of those who 
attempt suicide with a firearm are successful. And, there is a 
significant danger of guns being stolen in the dorm setting.
  As Congress considers sensible gun legislation, I urge my colleagues 
to read this important report.

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