[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 20]
[Senate]
[Page 28742]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              GUN VIOLENCE

  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, it has been 5 years since the sniper 
shootings that paralyzed the Washington, DC, area came to an end. At 
3:19 in the morning on October 24, 2002, the Federal Bureau of 
Investigation arrested John Allen Mohammad and John Lee Malvo, putting 
an end to their reign of terror. Over the course of 23 long days, these 
two individuals randomly shot and killed 10 innocent people and 
critically injured 3 more.
  Following their arrests, John Lee Malvo was sentenced to life 
imprisonment, and John Allen Mohammad was sentenced to death. Many 
community leaders urged action on gun safety legislation. However, how 
much has been done to help prevent such incidents?
  Last month the Federal Bureau of Investigation released its latest 
``Crime in the United States'' report, detailing local, State, regional 
and national statistics for 2006. According to the report, 14,990 
people were murdered in the United States last year alone. This is an 
increase over 14,965 murders in 2005, and 14,210 in 2004. Of the 14,990 
murdered in 2006, 10,177 people were killed by a firearm. In Michigan 
alone, there were 711 murders last year, 498 involved a firearm. These 
numbers are simply staggering.
  Gun violence is preventable. However it requires action. In order to 
reduce the level of gun violence in our homes and communities, Congress 
must pass common sense legislation to keep guns out of the hands of 
children and criminals.
  Without action, guns will be found increasingly in our high schools, 
universities, religious institutions, and our homes. Some of us in 
Congress have heard voices cry of families, educators, and police 
officials around this country and continue to work to pass sensible gun 
legislation, which would limit access to guns by prohibited persons, 
close the gun show loophole, reauthorize the assault weapons ban and 
aid law enforcement agencies in tracking gun traffickers. Congress 
needs to address these needs and do everything possible to reduce the 
levels of gun violence in America.

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