[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 5]
[Senate]
[Page 7408]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      ONE YEAR AFTER VIRGINIA TECH

  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, April 16 marked 1 year since the deadliest 
shooting rampage in our Nation's history, a tragedy that took the lives 
of 32 Virginia Tech students and faculty members and wounded 17 more. 
April 16 was a day that forever changed the lives of many and we 
struggle to make sense of this senseless tragedy.
  In almost 32 States, and on at least 32 college campuses, survivors 
and family members of those killed or injured in that shooting recently 
joined students, parents, and concerned citizens to remember the lives 
lost on April 16, 2007. During remembrance events across the country, 
hundreds laid silently on the ground in groups of 32 to honor the 32 
innocent victims murdered at Virginia Tech. In my home State of 
Michigan, people gathered in Detroit and Kalamazoo to ring bells, read 
names, and recite prayers, all to remember the victims of this horrible 
tragedy.
  These commemorations also sought to remember the families and loved 
ones of the more than approximately 100,000 people who are killed or 
injured by a firearm every year in America. Hundreds joined in 
expressing their frustrations at the glaring gaps in our Nation's gun 
laws. In August 2007, a panel of experts, commissioned by Virginia Gov. 
Tim Kaine, issued a report based upon their independent review of the 
tragedy at Virginia Tech. Among other things, the report pointed to 
weak enforcement of and gaps in regulations regarding the purchase of 
guns, as well as holes in State and Federal laws. It also emphasized 
the critical need for improved background checks and the danger 
firearms can present on college campuses.
  Despite these calls from experts and outcries from the American 
people, the Congress has yet to act to make it harder for dangerous 
people to obtain dangerous weapons. By strengthening our background 
check system, closing the gun show loophole, and renewing the assault 
weapons ban we could help put an end to the type of tragedies such as 
the one that occurred at Virginia Tech.

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