[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 7]
[Senate]
[Pages 8992-8993]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                        GUN CONTROL LEGISLATION

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, a little over a year ago in Littleton, CO, 
at Columbine High School, there was a shooting incident which shocked 
America. We saw in that high school an event which we did not believe 
could happen in the United States, where students could get guns 
through a gun show, go into a high school filled with other students, 
and open fire, killing 12 or 13 students and injuring many others. It 
shocked America's conscience.
  As a result, the Senate began to consider gun control legislation--
frankly,

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more gun safety legislation--to keep guns out of the hands of those who 
would misuse them. We are a nation of 200 million guns. Many of us 
believe guns should be kept out of the hands of criminals and children.
  So we considered legislation on the floor of the Senate to do a 
background check at gun shows so kids and criminals would not have 
access to guns through these gun shows. We know the Brady law requires 
a background check at gun dealers. We think the same should apply to 
gun shows.
  We also thought handguns should have a trigger lock so children who 
were looking around for something that was unusual and different or 
challenging would not find a loaded gun and hurt themselves or a 
playmate. We read about that almost every day. A trigger lock is a way 
to make sure that gun is securely stored away from children.
  In another part of the bill, we dealt with the whole question of 
these high-capacity ammo clips, imported into the United States from 
overseas, that have absolutely no value whatsoever for any legitimate 
sportsman or hunter. They are people killers.
  We considered that bill on the floor of the Senate. The vote on that 
bill was 49-49, a tie vote. As provided under the Constitution of the 
United States, the Vice President came and cast the tie-breaking vote. 
We sent that bill over to the House in the hopes we could reduce some 
of the gun violence in America after Columbine High School.
  The National Rifle Association got its hands on that bill over in the 
House, and that was the end of it. They stripped from that bill 
virtually any of the provisions I described to you and sent it to a 
conference where it has languished for almost 8 months. During that 
period of time many more people have been killed by gun violence in 
America.
  Just a few weeks ago, the Million Mom March across the United States 
brought out mothers on Mother's Day who gave up a celebration with 
their family to come out and talk about the need in America for gun 
safety, for gun control, sensible gun control. Yet this Congress has 
turned a deaf ear. We have refused even to acknowledge that this gun 
violence is rampant in America as in no other nation on Earth.
  Every day now, for the last week, Members of the Senate have come to 
the floor to memorialize those who died a year ago today, after 
Columbine, after Littleton, CO, after Jonesboro, AR, and all of the 
other cities where we saw the gun violence that captured our 
imagination and basically stunned America. We come to the floor each 
day to read the names of some of the victims. These are victims whose 
names were collected by the U.S. Conference of Mayors from cities large 
and small to remind us that a year ago today these people, whose names 
I am about to read, died because of gun violence--people who had 
otherwise normal lives and families and aspired to all the good things 
we do in life. They lost their lives because of gun violence.
  Many times, issues on the floor of the Senate and the House really do 
not become very personal. They are statistics. We just refer to them in 
the abstract. This is not about statistics. It is not about abstract 
thought. It is about real human lives that have been lost to gun 
violence a year ago today and, sadly, will be lost to gun violence 
again today.
  Following are the names of some of the people who were killed by 
gunfire 1 year ago, on May 24, 1999: Michael Calim, age 32, Houston, 
TX; Mark Raiffie, age 47, St. Louis, MO; Gary Ricks, age 51, Detroit, 
MI; Bobby L. Williams, age 40, Houston, TX; Ronald Williams, age 47, 
Miami-Dade County, FL; an unidentified female, San Francisco, CA.
  Today in America there will be more gun deaths. We must remember that 
among those gun deaths will be 12 children who will die. The National 
Rifle Association at their recent convention said: We know who those 12 
kids are; they are the gang bangers, drug gangs, and all the rest. You 
can expect that.
  They are wrong. Included among those 12 children are those who commit 
suicide with guns, those who play with guns, little infants killing 
themselves or a playmate, certainly those who are victims of gang 
bangers and, believe me, I have seen innocent young men and women who 
have been maimed. I have talked with the parents of people who have 
been killed on the streets of one of my cities in Illinois, Chicago. 
These were children waiting for a schoolbus when somebody came by and 
sprayed bullets from one of these weapons and injured or killed 
students.
  For the National Rifle Association to say we basically should ignore 
these 12 children who die every day in America because they are part of 
drug gangs is a sad commentary on this organization and a sad 
commentary that they are out of touch with the reality of gun violence 
as it affects every family in America today. I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the time from 10:30 
a.m. until 11 a.m. shall be under the control of the Senator from 
Wyoming, or his designee.
  Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent for 10 minutes 
of the time allocated to the Senator from Wyoming.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The 
Senator from Texas is recognized.
  Mrs. HUTCHISON. I thank the Chair.

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