[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 8]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 10895]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                         GUN SAFETY LEGISLATION

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON-LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 14, 2000

  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about 
the need for common-sense gun safety legislation.
  Today, Democrats and local million mom marchers and other 
representatives from organizations like Handgun Control Inc. will 
convene a vigil for the victims of gun violence as we call upon this 
Congress to take up reasonable gun safety legislation. The Houston 
Chronicle reported that a Houston police officer's 3-year-old son 
accidentally shot himself in the leg on June 12th. The boy is OK, 
however, investigators say the boy found the loaded gun in a linen 
closet. June 8, a 12-year-old middle school student here in Chesapeake, 
Virginia was charged after he brought a gun to school.
  The overall rate of firearm-related deaths for children younger than 
15 years of age is nearly 12 times greater than that found for 25 other 
industrialized nations. The United States has the highest rates of 
firearm-related deaths among industrialized countries. Between 1980 and 
1997 three out of four murdered juveniles ages 12 or older were killed 
with a firearm. The American Academy of Pediatrics even predicts that 
by the year 2003, firearm-related deaths may become the leading cause 
of injury-related death.
  It is imperative that we act now and not allow Republican leaders to 
dismantle the vital gun safety provisions contained within the current 
juvenile justice bill. Simply passing a bill without any gun safety 
provisions would be irresponsible and a terrible mistake on the part of 
this Congress. We must let the American people know that we are not 
afraid to take the steps necessary to enact responsible legislation. We 
cannot allow the NRA to determine how this Congress acts at the expense 
of our children. We are holding this vigil to continue the push for 
this Congress to pass gun safety legislation that would close the gun 
show loophole and include common-sense gun safety measures that prevent 
felons, fugitives and stalkers from obtaining fire arms and children 
from getting access to guns. The American people have waited long 
enough for us to act on this legislation. We can no longer delay and 
wait for the next tragedy in order to take action.


                           Current Headlines

  Sunday, June 11, in Harris County, a 14-year-old girl shot and killed 
another teen, James Stampfli. Evidently, the two teens were arguing 
over a motorcycle and the girl took a semi-automatic .22 rifle and shot 
the other teen.

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