[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 6]
[Senate]
[Pages 7747-7748]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       THEY'RE TOO SMART FOR THAT

  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, last month the American Academy of 
Pediatrics published a survey reporting that most parents believe that 
their children would not touch a gun they found. Unfortunately, these 
beliefs are inconsistent with other studies of the way kids actually 
react around guns, including a July 2002 report by the David and 
Lucille Packard Foundation.
  The American Academy of Pediatrics survey reported that an estimated 
one third of American homes with children contain at least one firearm 
and nearly half of all firearms in homes with children are not stored 
safely. According to the article, 87 percent of respondents predicted 
that their children would not handle guns they found, whereas 13 
percent predicted that there was a chance their children would do so. 
Researchers grouped parents' responses into three

[[Page 7748]]

categories. First, 46 percent of respondents said ``my children would 
not touch guns because they're too smart for that.'' Second, 35 percent 
said ``my children would not touch guns because I've told them not 
to.'' And third, 11 percent said, ``my children would probably pick up 
or play with guns they found, because that's just what kids do.''
  However, the earlier David and Lucille Packard Foundation study 
demonstrated that children often do not behave as their parents might 
believe. In fact, according to the foundation's report, children and 
young people are actually likely to handle a gun if they find one.
  All parents want to ensure the safety of their children. One thing 
the Senate can do to help is pass common sense safe storage legislation 
for firearms. Under Senator Durbin's Child Access Prevention Act, 
adults who fail to lock up loaded firearms or an unloaded firearm with 
ammunition could be held liable if that weapon is taken by a child and 
used to kill or injure him or herself or another person. The bill would 
also increase the penalties for selling a gun to a juvenile and create 
a gun safety education program that includes parent-teacher 
organizations, local law enforcement and community organizations. I 
support this bill, urge my colleagues to support it, and hope the 
Senate will act on it during the 108th Congress.

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