[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 2]
[Senate]
[Pages 2438-2439]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                            A PARENT'S PLEA

  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, a week ago, Veronica McQueen didn't have 
the slightest idea she would be the latest parent thrust into a tragic 
spotlight. Now, the mother of Kayla Rolland, the six-year-old girl who 
was shot and killed in Mount Morris Township, Michigan, is very much 
the focus of public attention and empathy.
  Kayla's mother and parents across the country are heartsick. Parents 
too often fear sending their children to school in the morning. They 
are joining the fight against gun violence and demanding that Congress 
make this country safer for their own children and the nation's 
children. As Kayla's mother said, ``I just don't want to see another 
parent have to bury another baby over this, over something that is 
preventable, something that is very, very preventable.''
  I would like to share some of the thoughts and feelings of mothers 
across the country. They have written to the Million Mom March, an 
organization fighting for commonsense gun legislation, asking Congress 
to listen to their pleas for safety. I urge Congress to stop listening 
to the NRA and heed the words of parents: pass legislation before more 
children's voices are silenced by gunshots.
  Victoria of Pittsburgh, PA writes: ``It is 4 a.m. and my daughter had 
that terrifying dream again--the one about the man with the gun--`he'd 
already shot you and Dad, Mom--and now he's coming for me.' Was my 
daughter affected by Columbine? I was!''
  Cindy of Bridgewater, NJ: ``Our children look to their parents for 
protection. What are we suppose to tell them when we can't? Who are we 
suppose to go to for help? It is the job of EVERY citizen in this 
country and EVERY government official to make sure our children are 
safe. Stricter gun laws are only meant to do ONE thing. . . . PROTECT 
OUR CHILDREN! I am asking the government to please step up to the plate 
and protect them . . . after all aren't some of you parents too?''
  Julie of Hamilton, VA: ``I want to protect my two remaining children 
and grandchild from the horror of gun violence. I was not able to 
protect my precious son Jesse, who was a victim of a self-inflicted 
gunshot wound to the head on June 11, 1999.''
  Leslie of Philadelphia, PA: ``On February 2 ,2000, my son, Songha 
Thomas Willis, was fatally shot in a holdup while visiting me in 
Philadelphia . . . Needless to say, this has been a very difficult time 
for me and my family over the past few weeks. We are still in shock, 
and as a family of law enforcers, we are doubly affected by this event 
. . . I support not only changing gun control laws but changing the 
hearts of those who are against our efforts, because the heart is the 
fountainhead of all things moral.''
  Deborah of Walled Lake, MI: ``. . . A few months ago someone I love 
lost a child to violence and a hand gun. His son who had just turned 17 
a few weeks before was shot sitting on his own front porch. Someone 
thought he was someone else and walked up to him and ended his life his 
dreams his families dreams for him in an instant. He is gone and the 
world is a sadder place because of that loss. We have to stop this 
senseless killing the loss of our children. Our best chance of making 
Washington listen to us is if our voices are one. I will be with those 
who march in Washington on Mothers day. We have to stop the killing of 
our children.''
  B. Adams of Littleton, CO: ``My daughter survived Columbine, but 
looking into the faces of the parents that night who had not found 
their children was the hardest thing I've ever done. Although guns were 
not the only equation, how can we not do what we can to prevent this 
from happening again?! How can gun commerce be more important than the 
lives and safety of our children? How can we face them and not say that 
we have done all we can to protect them?''
  Eileen of Palm Beach Gardens, FL: ``My 19 yr. old son Michael was 
murdered on March 21, 1996 along with his

[[Page 2439]]

best friend. Both were shot in the head execution style by two teens 
who had been involved in an attempted murder 13 hours before using a 
hand gun. These last four years have been a living hell and if I can 
stop just one mother from living the nightmare I have had to live, then 
I will be happy.''
  Suzy of Raleigh, NC: ``Last April, my growing lanky 10 yr. old sat on 
my lap the day after Columbine and asked me--`Why?' I had no answer. I 
simply held him and cried with him. I still have no answer. But I don't 
ever want him to ask me why I didn't do something. I will link hands 
with all of you on Mothers Day. Its time to take back our precious 
babies' childhoods.''
  Lori of Troy, MI: ``I am scared and outraged for our children. In 
Michigan there is an effort to allow concealed weapons. I have had 
enough of the NRA and the pro gun lobby. They say the hand that rocks 
the cradle rules the world. I hope we can change it.''
  Angelique of Imperial Beach, CA: ``A close friend of mine once found 
a little boy that had been accidentally shot in the head by a friends' 
dads' gun. To this day she will never in a million years forget what it 
felt like to have that little boy tug and pull at her shirt during his 
last few moments alive. Had there been a trigger-lock on that firearm 
his life could've been saved . . . As well as so many others . . .''

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