[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 11]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 16223]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



         INTRODUCTION OF THE ACCIDENTAL SHOOTING PREVENTION ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JAMES R. LANGEVIN

                            of rhode island

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, August 2, 2001

  Mr. LANGEVIN. Mr. Speaker, today I am joined by 40 of my colleagues 
in introducing the ``Accidental Shooting Prevention Act'' to address 
the large number of firearm injuries and deaths that occur when users 
mistakenly fire guns they believe are not loaded. This sensible 
bipartisan legislation would require that all semiautomatic firearms 
manufactured after January 1, 2004, which have removable magazines, be 
equipped with plainly visible chamber load indicators and magazine 
disconnect mechanisms.
  As with many other consumer products, firearm design can reduce the 
risk of injury. But unlike other products, gun design decisions have 
been largely left to manufacturers. Fortunately, firearms manufacturers 
have already produced many guns with safety devices, such as chamber 
load indicators and magazine disconnect mechanisms, which can help 
reduce the risk of accidental injuries.
  A chamber load indicator indicates that the gun's firing chamber is 
loaded with ammunition, but to be effective, a user must be aware of 
the indicator. Generally, chamber load indicators display the presence 
of ammunition via a small protrusion somewhere on the handgun. 
Unfortunately, most chamber load indicators do not clearly indicate 
their existence to untrained users or observers. We must ensure these 
indicators are easily visible to all gun users, and my legislation will 
do just that.