[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 12437]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



               LET US KEEP GUNS OUT OF HANDS OF CHILDREN

  (Mr. ROTHMAN asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. ROTHMAN. Madam Speaker, I am a Democrat who believes in the 
Second Amendment right to bear arms, but a Democrat who believes that 
we need gun control to keep guns out of the hands of our children.
  There are plenty of causes of the violence in Littleton and in 
Georgia: parental neglect, teacher neglect, those young people who 
fired those weapons and committed those crimes, violence, sadistic and 
cruel videos and movies, and video games. But the number one culprit is 
the guns that the kids use to kill the other kids.
  Some people say we cannot do two things at once in America, we cannot 
enjoy the right to bear arms and go hunting and use our guns lawfully 
and at the same time enact laws to keep guns out of the hands of 12- 
and 14-year-olds.
  They are wrong. They underestimate the intelligence and ability of 
Americans to do two important things at once, recognize our right to 
bear arms, but protect our children.
  The Republican leadership must stop its efforts to water down and 
delay reasonable, common-sense gun control that keeps guns out of the 
hands of our children.
  I urge my Republican colleagues to get their leadership to allow 
reasonable, common-sense gun control to be passed in this House.

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