[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Page 5714]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                             ELIAN GONZALEZ

  Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I want to take this occasion to say 
something about the Elian Gonzalez case. I have not spoken formerly in 
the Senate about it, but it has been addressed by several of my 
colleagues on the other side of the aisle. For me, it is simple because 
it is not about politics; it is about the heart; it is about family.
  Some may call me old fashioned. I think kids belong with their 
parents--I have always believed that--unless there is some reason a 
child should not be with the parent, if the child has a bad parent. 
There is no proof of that in any way, or suggestion of that, except at 
the last minute the relatives who are caring for Elian, now, have made 
these charges.
  It seems as if every time the father comes closer, he becomes a worse 
person. First, he was wonderful. They said, he is wonderful but he 
doesn't care about his son; he is not here. Now he is here, and they 
still will not turn the child over.
  I have a little grandson. He is about a year younger than Elian, so I 
am pretty familiar with kids that age because I have watched him so 
closely. They are babies; they really are. They are little children. 
They are babies. They are impressionable. That is why it is so 
important to treat them well and to not use them for any purpose--let 
them be children.
  I have to say unequivocally as a grandmother, not as a Senator, I 
believe it is very harmful for a child to be exposed to screaming 
adults outside of his home, day in and day out, shouting things. There 
is something wrong with that. It is harmful to a child.
  I also want to point out there is room for politics over the Cuba 
issue. Of course there is. But it is not around this case. It should 
not be around this case, either by those in this country who want to 
make it a political issue, or Fidel Castro, who may well want to do 
that if and when Elian is back. That would be deplorable.
  We have to treat this child gently. We have to reunite this child 
with his living parent. I just would like to make a plea to those who 
do not want to do that and who have said that to get Elian with his 
father is going to take people coming to the door, that they will not 
relinquish this child except if there is force used, that is not the 
way we do things in this country.
  This is a country of peaceful laws. That is why we have courts. That 
is why people have to obey court orders. We have laws. We cannot, 
because we disagree with them--God knows, every one of us disagree with 
jury verdicts; we disagree with laws; we disagree with decisions. The 
beauty of our Nation is that we are a country of laws. We must make it 
clear those laws should be obeyed. We ought to do it in the best 
interests of this child, which means gently and peacefully.

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