[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 1]
[Senate]
[Page 370]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   A REPORT ON OUR NATION'S GUN LAWS

  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence 
recently published a report highlighting the progress made in state 
laws to protect children from guns and gun violence. The evaluation 
focused on a number of laws addressing juvenile possession of guns, 
safe storage, childproof guns, background checks and carrying concealed 
weapons, among other issues. The nation as a whole received a grade of 
C+. However, 29 States received grades of D or F. The report reveals 
the fact that our Nation's gun laws are a patchwork providing uneven 
and often ineffective protection for our Nation's children. In fact, 
the death rate of youth in the 7 States that received an F grade was 33 
percent higher than the average firearms death rate for the 10 States 
that received an A or a B. This discrepancy illustrates the need for 
common sense gun safety laws and is a strong argument for Federal 
action.
  Last year, I cosponsored a bill introduced by Senator Durbin, the 
Children's Firearm Prevention Act. Under this bill, adults who fail to 
lock up a loaded firearm or an unloaded firearm with ammunition would 
be held liable if the weapon is taken by a child and used to kill or 
injure themselves or another person. The bill also increases the 
penalties for selling a gun to a juvenile and creates a gun safety 
education program that includes parent-teacher organizations, local law 
enforcement and community organizations. This bill is similar to a bill 
President Bush signed into law during his tenure as the Governor of 
Texas. I support this bill and hope the Senate will act on it during 
this Congress.

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