Date: 1999-05-20
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Madam Speaker. I thought it was important to come to the floor of the House to address again the crisis that we are facing in this Nation. and that crisis is that of the safety of our children. Today unfortunately as the sun rose another youngster took weapons to school and shot children. I am most grateful. as most mothers and fathers. families. that this tragedy did not result in death. I cannot imagine what people in Littleton. Colorado. are thinking. or Jonesboro. or the State of Pennsylvania. or my own State of Texas. and rather than be political and politicize this. I am simply begging with all of the intellect in this Congress that we have the courage to admit that there are many concerns. There is the entertainment industry. violence in videos. There is the issue of intergenerational conflict or disconnect because maybe adults and children are not talking the way they should. There is the concern that I have raised and will be presenting in legislation. Give a Child a Chance Omnibus Mental Health Services bill for 1999 where we can focus on the fact that children need mental health services. both children who can afford it and those who cannot. I think right now. in light of the Senates actions today. we realize that gun legislation is not political. Over 89 percent of the American public are waking up and saying we must have safety locks. It is important to keep from children. or young people under 21. guns. We must close the loopholes in pawn shops and in gun shows so that there are no more opportunities for people to randomly walk in and get guns. as a young lady did on behalf of Eric Harris in Littleton. Colorado. Parents are in pain. Children are in fear. Our children can talk about guns and their feeling of being unsafe. They can talk about the fact that they do not know whether their graduation will be safe or whether large gatherings will be safe. Many of us as women Members of Congress have gathered. We gathered before Mothers Day and asked Speaker HASTERT to ensure that we pass gun legislation before Fathers Day. I want to go a step further. We have next week. We should not leave here until we say not only to the American people but the world that we pride ourselves. as loving our children greater than our guns. and in fact this is not taking away guns from people who use them for sports and legally. This is saying that we have a proliferation of guns and our children are asking or crying out for us to be restrained and to restrain them. 250 million Americans. 260 million guns on the street. Why cannot we find common ground on legislation that I passed in my city holding parents responsible. adults. for allowing guns to be in childrens hands and thereby causing an injury? It was unanimously supported and then passed in the State of Texas. certainly a State that has its share of guns. Safety locks. as has been said eloquently by my colleagues. there are regulations of diaper bags and regulations of parks and schools and equipment that children use. Why not guns? Why can we not keep guns out of the hands of those under 21? Why can we not do instant check at gun shows where all kinds of people come and. believe me. they use that method to get guns. Why can we not have tracing so that felons who are now dealing with the black market can be found? Why can we not have an amendment that deals with gun running? It is very important. Madam Speaker. that the women in this House stand up. I demand that we collectively raise our voices to the Speaker. and I guess I demand of him. to not shy away from the responsibility. Put the NRA aside. It has its own agenda. and anyone who says it does not is not reading all of their PR. their public relations. I did not come here to point the finger. I have mentioned the entertainment industry. They know what they can do. This is a pyramid. We are building blocks. I have mentioned the need for more mental health services from K to 12. intervention risk assessment in every piece of legislation. that I can. In addition to the omnibus bill. I am going to be raising my voice for mental health services. It is too long and too late where it is a stigma. so that is why children have stopped taking their medication because there is a stigma all around. So if the parent does not tell them they certainly do not get reinforced in school. and troubled children are in our schools without medication. So. Madam Speaker. I am not pointing the finger. I am speaking out of anguish and I am speaking out of pain. I cannot go another day without us doing something about these gunS. We must pass legislation this week as we come back. While I am home in the district this weekend. whoever will hear me. I will be talking about are we going to stand up for our children? Tomorrow at a press conference on Head Start I will be talking about our children and guns. Madam Speaker. I hope that we can collectively indicate to the American people we have heard them. This is a crisis and we know their pain. The Federal Government does not want to take over education of their children. We just want to take over the fact that we want our children to survive and we are going to help them with legislation and money. Madam Speaker. I hope that we will all stand together next week as we return to this Congress.