    [Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 35, Number 17 (Monday, May 3, 1999)]
    [Pages 767-769]
    [Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    <R04>
    Remarks Announcing Measure to Address School Violence

    April 30, 1999

        Ladies and gentlemen, in the last several days, like most Americans,
    I have spent an enormous amount of time following the events in
    Colorado, talking to family and friends and others. And I have some
    thoughts on that that I want to share with you today.
        Let me begin by saying we got some more good news today on the
    economic front with the word that our economy expanded by 4.5 percent in
    the first quarter of this year. This news provides both more evidence
    that we should stick with our economic strategy and also is a worthwhile
    reminder that for all the challenges we face at home and abroad we are,
    indeed, a fortunate people. We are strong enough to meet those
    challenges.
        Over the past 10 days our whole Nation has been united in grief with
    the people of Littleton, Colorado. We have also been profoundly moved by
    the courage, the common sense, and the fundamental goodness of Littleton
    students, teachers, parents, and public servants as they have spoken to
    us of the tragic events there. I have listened carefully to what they
    have said and to other young people and parents who have been on the
    townhall meetings and those whom I have met personally.
        We should recognize the simple truth that there is no simple, single
    answer. We should not be fighting about who takes the blame. Instead, we
    should all be looking for ways to take responsibility, and we should be
    doing that together.
        As we have united in grief, now we should unite in action. If we ask
    the right question, ``what can we do to give your children safe, whole
    childhoods?'' then there will be answers for parents and children, for
    teachers, communities, and for those who influence the lives and the
    environment in which our children live, including those of us in
    government, religious leaders, the entertainment and Internet
    communities, those who produce explosives and weapons, and those who use
    them lawfully.

    [[Page 768]]

        I am inviting representatives of all these groups to come to the
    White House on May 10th for a strategy session on children, violence,
    and responsibility. The First Lady, the Vice President, and Mrs. Gore,
    all of whom have worked for years to give our children the childhoods
    they deserve, will join me. I ask everyone to come to this meeting with
    ideas about how we can move forward together.
        As Hillary said yesterday, we need nothing less than a grassroots
    effort to protect our children and turn them away from violence. If
    citizens, parents and children alike, working together in their
    communities, can reduce teen pregnancy, reduce drunk driving, make
    seatbelt use nearly universal, then working together, we can protect our
    children.
        I want to briefly set out a framework for how this challenge can
    best be addressed. The push and pull of modern life adds incalculable
    new burdens to the work of parents. We must strive to find ways to bring
    parents and children together more, to get parents more involved with
    their children's lives, to get negative influences and guns out of the
    lives of our children, and to give families the tools to meet these
    challenges.
        First, we must help parents to pass on their values to their
    children in the face of a blizzard of popular communications that too
    often undermine those values. For young people who are particularly
    vulnerable and isolated, the violent video game they play can seem more
    real than conversations at home or lessons at school. We've been working
    to give parents stronger tools to protect their children, and we must do
    more.
        The V-chip will be included in half the new televisions sold this
    year. And together with the voluntary rating system adopted by
    broadcasters, it will give parents a new ability to screen the images
    their children see. Meanwhile, we've launched the most ambitious media
    plan ever to educate our children about the dangers of drugs.
        The Vice President and Internet service providers have given parents
    the ability to block access to violent or otherwise inappropriate
    websites. The Vice President will continue to work with industry to find
    ways to help parents guide their children through cyberspace, and we'll
    have more to say on that in the days ahead. We have worked to give our
    parents the tools to protect children from violence and to take guns out
    of the hands of children. The policy of zero tolerance for guns in
    schools led to 6,000 expulsions or suspensions in the last year alone.
        This week I proposed new measures to keep guns away from criminals
    and children; requiring background checks for buying guns at gun shows,
    as they are required at gun stores now, and background checks for the
    purchase of explosives; banning handgun ownership for people under 21;
    and restoring the Brady bill's cooling off period; and closing the
    loopholes in the assault weapons law.
        Even on these contentious issues, I believe we can reach across
    party lines and find common ground. I hope that sportsmen, gun
    manufacturers, and lawmakers of all parties will see these steps for
    what they are, common sense measures to promote the common good. We all
    love our children. I respect the rights of hunters and sportsmen. Let's
    bury the hatchet and build a future for our children together.
        We must help parents fulfill their most important responsibilities.
    We all say we want parents to talk to their children more, but we all
    know that too many families have too little time even to have dinner
    together.
        Because parents too often have too little time, we've passed the
    Family and Medical Leave Act, and we're working to expand it. Because
    too many children leave school at 3, with nowhere to go and no adult to
    talk to, we've giving a quarter million kids access to after-school and
    summer-school programs, and we're working to triple that number. Because
    many parents need help in recognizing the signs of illness in their
    children, we're working to expand access to mental health care for
    children of all ages. Next month, Mrs. Gore will host the first White
    House Conference on Mental Health. We are also working to expand
    counseling, mentoring, and mental health services in our schools.
        Most important of all, and perhaps most difficult, parents must be
    more active participants in their children's lives. It is not for us to
    pass judgment on how those two young men in Colorado descended into
    darkness. We may never know what can be or even

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    what could have been done. But this should be a wake-up call for all
    parents. We can never take our children for granted. We must never let
    the lines of communication, no matter how frayed, be broken altogether.
    Our children need us, even if they don't know it sometimes.
        This terrible tragedy must not be an occasion for silence. This
    weekend I ask all parents, if they have not already done so, to sit down
    and talk to their children about what happened at Littleton and what is
    happening in their schools and their lives.
        If we are not careful, when our children move through their teen
    years and begin to create their own separate lives, the bustle and
    burden of our daily lives can cause families to drift too far apart, to
    ignore the still-strong needs of children for genuine concern and
    guidance and honest conversation. This is sometimes the hardest thing of
    all, but it is vital, and lives depend on it.
        Finally, I ask students to do more to help each other. Next week, if
    you have not already done so, I ask every student in America to look for
    someone at school who is not in your group. You know, there have always
    been different crowds in schools, and there always will be. This, too,
    is an inevitable part of growing up and finding your own path through
    life. But it should not be an occasion for disrespect or hostility in
    our schools. After all, our children are all on the same journey, even
    if they're trying to chart different paths. And this can be profoundly
    important in building a safer future.
        The spirit of America can triumph in this troubling moment, and I am
    convinced it will. But we must build the energy and will and passion of
    our country and the fundamental goodness of our people into a grassroots
    movement to turn away from violence and to give all our children the
    safe and wholesome childhoods they richly deserve.
        Thank you very much.

    Note: The President spoke at 1:54 p.m. in the Rose Garden at the White
    House.